Navi
by StoryJunkie
Summary: Navi becomes human. The story begins with the Great Deku Tree and the Kokiri stopping the mischievous fairy's rampage by placing a curse on her that will last 100 years. A prequel to The Death of the Queen. Explicit
1. Eden

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with Nintendo, 'Legend of Zelda, the Ocarina of Time". Characters of that story do not belong to me.But trust me, you'll never think of them in quite the same way again...

**Warning:** This story contains scenes of violence, sex, rape, pregnancies and a whole lot of words strung together to make some kind of sense.

**Synopsis: **Navi the fairy is actually Link's mom: How did she get that way? Well, about 100 years before the game begins, the Great Deku tree and the Kokiri were worried about her because she had no Kokiri companion. Because of this, she constantly got into trouble, and even began making trouble in the 5 kingdoms. The Great Deku Tree and the Kokiri together decided that Navi needed to be punished, so they collectively cursed the little fairy. She was in grave danger of becoming an imp. They decided her punishment: she was to be human for the next 100 years. Give or take 30, depending on how well she behaved...

One after another, the Kokiri face outward in the circle they had formed around the Great Deku Tree. They chant the little rhyme over and over again: Be gone, be cursed. Come back, be healed. They know that by doing this, a companion for her will one-day come. But they know that when the ceremony is over, the memory of the tiny sprite will have faded. Only for the Great Deku Tree does the memory of Navi continue.

**Chapter 1: Eden**

Navi flew around the woods as she usually did, looking for mischief because she was bored. Suddenly, on the dappled forest floor, she noticed a woman being chased by a man. The woman, however, didn't seem particularly scared. In fact, she looked as if she was enjoying herself immensely, casting smouldering glances at her pursuer.

It didn't take long before the man caught her and pinned her up against a tree.

Navi flew closer for a better look, not knowing what the two were doing. What sort of purpose was this? she wondered. She had seen children play games of tag, but they did not tag each other with their whole body. The woman had a fine profile, luscious lips, and sloe-shaped eyes. Her bodice was full, and her dress covered long slender limbs. The man's shirt was tight over broad shoulders; his trousers came only to mid-calf and were ragged on the ends. His belt was only a rope. His hair color was like the fields in fall, bleached by the sun and unruly. His hands were roughened and strong from constant work. He ran with great agility and speed, and when he caught his prize, Navi knew she had no chance of escape.

Navi watched with a great deal of curiousity as the man's body began to move against the woman's. He had locked his lips upon hers, and she seemed overcome by this, and was loosing the strength in her legs, for she gradually lay upon the forest floor with the man still pinning her with his body. When Navi moved closer, she noticed that they were very young. At one point, when the boy pulled the girl's skirt, she tried to straight-arm him away from her. _Why was he tugging at her skirt? _Navi wondered. A strange feeling settled into the center of her being, and she told herself: _You shouldn't be watching this_ Yet she could not make her eyes look away from the scene below. The two seemed to move around in the dappled light like living art. Their faces, their expressions, the way they gazed at each other, his hand on her wrist, her hand on his shoulder... it was so provocative and compelling. Navi could barely even force herself to blink.

They spoke softly to one another; so intent were they, that they noticed nothing of the forest around them. They kissed each other for a long time, and rolled around on the soft moss. He spoke her name, then gazed into her eyes and said, "I won't if you don't want me to." and nothing more.

There was a long pause as they looked at each other, then she stood up and turned her back to him.

Navi looked from one to another. _What kind of game is this?_ The boy, still prone, leaned on one elbow, his head bowed, the fingers of his other hand curling around the moss, tearing it. His hair covered his expression. The girl stood very still, not moving. Then two things happened at once: the boy looked up at her, and she began undressing.

He sprang up and put his arms around her, preventing the dress from falling to the forest floor. The girl turned in his arms until she faced him and began kissing him again. He let the dress resume its course. She kicked its entangling folds away. She now wore only her slip. He murmured her name again, and she avoided looking at his eyes, looking at his shoulders instead. She began removing his shirt, but he caught her hands in his. He gave her a warning look, and she looked at him with pleading eyes. They said nothing. Only a forest creature, somewhere in the middle distance, chirruped over and over again.

Then the boy took off his shirt and undid the knot that held up his pants. At the same time, she shrugged out of her slip. They stood there, looking at each other for a moment. Navi flew even closer. She had never seen a naked person before, and definitely not in this state. She buzzed around them, but they hardly noticed her at all. Maybe they thought she was a really quiet humming bird.

He took the girl's hand in his and pressed it on to the place he most wanted her to touch. The girl hadn't expected to be feeling that. "Hang on tight." he whispered. "You're going to have to do this. I don't want to hurt you." At the same time, he hesitantly placed one palm on her breast, feeling its soft fullness.

Navi couldn't understand why she was finding this so interesting. Soon the two were lying down again, the boy cradled between the girl's legs, and the girl had cried out and then bit her lip, and the boy apologized, but did not relent. In fact, he went faster until he, too, cried out.

Navi, watching the two lying in each other's arms, remembered now where she had seen such a thing. In the spring time when the deer were rutting, when the birds chased each other crazily though the air, when the squirrels ran madly around the tree trunk and jumped from limb to limb... When they caught each other, it was the same thing. Somehow, they connected, and then they hung on tightly to one another, and then they stayed close together for a very long time. Navi flew off, snorting. How could she not have known that humans did this too?

But Navi had seen what few fairies ever saw, and because she was a fairy without a Kokiri companion, she had turned to mischief and placed herself in danger. She did not know that being around such things could be dangerous. Fairies were like visible souls and souls were drawn to love and made into humans. Navi was in danger of becoming human, and sharing their lives as their child.

The next time the two did the same thing in the girl's father's barn, up in the hayloft. The sunbeams that streamed through the gaps between the boards in the wall striped their bodies with gold. The girl arched her back and twined her legs around his. The boy vigourously strained his body against hers. Straw dust fell onto the animals below. Navi watched that too, mesmerized by their movements, by the strange glow that surrounded them, by their quiet loving whispers. She found it more difficult to leave when they were done.

Every time, now that the boy and the girl met in this way, Navi was there. She would twirl around them whenever they came together, whether it was daytime or night. They got together more and more often. Navi started to wonder why it was that she was there every time. Soon, all her time was spent hovering around the girl. No one seemed to notice her. What she didn't know, was that her fairy aspect was leaving her, and her soul aspect was taking over. Her only desire was to be with this girl always, to be so close to her as to become a part of her. The young woman was a vortex, a magnet, a thing that Navi couldn't resist. She could see a light coming from her. Navi flew over and peeked into the light. What she saw there, was a tiny little girl, nestled within the body of the young woman. Navi caught her breath. What beauty! What peace! She felt herself falling, diving, unable to change course. And then she knew no more.


	2. Expulsion

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

**Chapter 2: Expulsion**

Elena couldn't wait to see Cameron again. He occupied her attention even when he wasn't around. She blushed furiously everytime she thought about the things they had done together, and she thought about it so often, that her skin glowed, and those around her began noticing how radiant she was. She went about her chores as if in a dream. Nothing could awaken her from this wonderful spell. Should her mother scold her for not churning the butter "like so", she didn't feel an inkling of remorse or sadness, because she knew she would meet him at the edge of the Kokiri forest. "Hmm." was all she would say to her mother.

Her mother, busy with a great many things, could only manage a quick glance at her daughter, but nothing more. She would remember this when she lay on the verge of sleep, and she would mention to her husband that Elena seemed preoccupied of late. "Aye." he would murmur, 1/2 way into dreamland himself. He had many concerns of his own and barely paid any attention to what his wife said.

"Do you suppose she caught the eye of some youth?" the mother pursued.

His eyes popped open, and he considered what she said. He had not paid too much attention to Elena lately because of all the calving that needed to be done, and he searched his mind for any boy that had been hanging around lately. All he could think of was the stable-boy Cameron, but he was such a dull lad, he doubted Elena had any interest in him whatsoever. He grunted in reply to his wife's concern. "Can't think of any."

But the next day, he observed Cameron with interest as he went about his chores. He worked as hard as ever, and, if possible, with even more cheer than usual. That was the annoying thing about the boy. He smiled so much, that anyone who didn't know him well would have thought that he was daft. He supposed that the boy had grown some in this past year. His pitch was strong and sure, his load larger than it was. He was done before he usually did, and his shirt was getting too tight around his shoulders. _No worse'n me when I was that age. _ He thought to himself. His voice was deepening without too much cracking, and Elena's dad figured that it was a blessing.

He exchanged a few words with the boy, but there was nothing in his attitude that gave away any clue to wrong-doing. His blue eyes were as ingenuous as usual. He tried to envision the two of them together, but the thought made him feel too uncomfortable. Who likes to think of their daughter being naked with some young buck? And would she...? his thoughts turned toward his dark-eyed daughter. Would she open her legs to any man? Was his daughter the type?

He observed her critically. Her figure was a woman's figure, no longer a girl's. She didn't climb trees as often as she used to, and she finished her chores quickly and efficiently. She didn't _seem_ preoccupied. She was innanely cheerful, perhaps more than usual. He figured it _could_ mean something. He shrugged and continued with the great deal of work that needed his attention.

Elena's Dad noticed, one day, that the churn had been left unattended. That was Elena's job. He looked around for her, but couldn't find her. He started getting anxious, but then saw her coming around the corner of the barn where the privy was located. Her face was pale and she held her hand over her stomach. She wiped her mouth with the edge of her apron. He felt relieved, not believing what he had been about to think, because his eyes sought Cameron next and spied him heaving straw for the animals. Nah...

"Elena!" he called out

She looked up, startled. "I'm sorry," she darted past him. "I didn't mean to leave the churn unattended."

Ah, he thought, what a good child.

So things went on for a month or so.

Elena's parents had several children, and so, several concerns, (besides running the farm). Amoung all the eyes at the place, one would think that someone would have noticed that on occasion, Elena disappeared into the forest, or the barn, or went for longer walks. Some one should have notice that she ran to the privy more often than usual. Someone should have noticed that she would fall asleep in the afternoons without any adieu. Someone should have noticed that she started eating a little more than her usual share.

When she was with Cameron, she felt uncomfortable if he lay on top of her afterwards. It felt like she had a kickball in her stomach. She put her hand on her bare stomach and felt a hard, round something that she hadn't really paid attention to before. Her breasts felt heavy and tender lately. Cameron liked it, but she didn't quite realize...and it hit her all at once. A strange mixed emotion fell upon her. The realization didn't dawn, it was more like a lightning bolt. "Cameron!" she whispered with so much intensity, that he looked up at her, immediately concerned. She grabbed his hand and pressed it on the place in question. "What's that?"

He smiled lazily and put his head down on her tummy. "Mine." he murmured and wrapped his arms around her waist.

That was such a correct answer, that she didn't say anything for a while. She just sat and marvelled at his complete and utter lack of concern. With his lips, he drew a circle of kisses around the place she had made him feel. "I think it will be a little girl." he said softly. "Like you." he smiled up at her. "You should call her Elena too."

He wanted her again. He could feel it rising in him like a river. He rose up on his hands and knees and crawled forward until he could kiss her, communicating all that he felt for her, touching nothing but her lips with his. "I love you Elena." he said softly. "I would die for you."

At this, her heart twisted a little. "Lets hope it doesn't come to that." she murmured. He lay down beside her and nibbled her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer. He curled her legs over his hips. He put his warm wet mouth on the nearest breast. That was one of the things he loved about her, she responded so overwhelmingly to every touch...She was so exciting, his every sense was overwhelmed by her.

"Papa, Elena and Cameron went to the woods." the littlest boy in the family said when they all sat at the table that night.

Elena felt herself freeze. Her father's head came up, and his fork hovered between the plate and his mouth. "Oh?" he prompted the child. At this second, he thought nothing of the child's prattling. They occasionally went on walks together, although not usually in the woods. Everyone knew the Kokiri Forest was a place to be avoided.

Elena tried to make eye contact with her brother, but he was intent on his story. He had no realization of what sort of impact his words could have, for he was an innocent young fellow, and Elena couldn't blame him.. Never the less, a kind of horror rose up inside of her as her brother continued his eye witness account of Elena's and Cameron's latest tryst in the woods. She could feel the blood leaving her face as everyone at the table became quiet. The boy's voice trailed away, because even he noticed the solemn attitude. Elena's face had gone from very pale to a beet red. She put her utensils down and lowered her eyes. She clenched her hands together and wished she could disappear at that moment. She felt her father's measured gaze and tears started to roll down her face.

Her father pushed his plate away and leaned back, unable to take his eyes off of his daughter. So, it was worse than they had thought. A million emotions rushed through him, leaving him feeling like he'd been swept down a raging torrent. He was left cold and empty inside. Only the feeling of betrayal was left hanging like an ugly giant spider. He looked at everyone around the table, including his wife, whose gaze was as shocked as his own. She was wondering how it was that she had missed that...?

"Are you pregnant?" he heard himself ask her. He only knew that it had to be asked.

She nodded and he could feel a vast emptiness open up inside of him. "Elena!" one of her sisters exclaimed softly with round eyes.

Suddenly, they all heard Cameron on the porch, stomping his feet before he came in. He opened the door in the usual way, thrusting himself cheerfully inside. "Hi, everybody, sorry I'm late." and he promptly began washing his hands in the basin by the door, not noticing that every eye in the room was on him. After a moment or two of prolonged silence, while wiping his hands dry, he looked up and found everyone with pale faces looking at him. "What's wrong?" he said, still smiling, but somewhat puzzled. "Did somebody die?"

Elena's dad stood up with such force that his chair fell with a loud bang, then bounced a couple of times before becoming still.

Realization dawned the instant Cameron saw Elena's face. She had never been so pale. Had she told them already, before he had arrived? They were supposed to do that together. That was what they had planned that very afternoon. He slowly put the towel down.

Elena's dad strode over to the young man, his face like thunder, his hands curled into rock hard fists. Cameron did not step back, but took the blow without dodging. His head smashed against the wall with such force, that the skin on his forehead above his right eye split, and blood trickled in a red stream down the side of his face. He did not wipe away the blood, but shakily straightened himself up and stood before the angry man. He showed no fear at all in his face. His eyes took on the look of puzzlement, as if he couldn't understand the older man's violence.

Everyone at the table watched without making a sound. Elena felt rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak. She had never seen her dad hit anyone. His hands had always been gentle and strong. But when he swung again, Cameron went down like an empty sack and Elena shot out of her chair. "Dad!" she cried out.

Cameron's body twitched and convulsed, then lay very still. His head lay at a strange angle. She knelt quickly beside him and gazed into his wide staring blue eyes and watched the light fade from them. Her face crumpled into an agony of grief, her own eyes reflecting disbelief. A great moan of anguish came from her throat, then she looked up at her father, who still stood above Cameron. He slapped her upturned face so hard that she fell face down onto the floor beside Cameron. She lay there, stunned for a moment, her mind still grasping at what was happening.

She felt his hand on the back of her neck, and he hauled her off of the floor and brought her face close to his. Very quietly, he said: "Go to your room and gather your things." With a shove, he propelled her toward the door that led to the bedrooms.

She fell against the wooden planks of the door. Her eyes became blinded by the tears that were about to course down her cheeks, and she groped for the latch, trying to suppress the sobs that welled up in her. Her throat ached from the effort. Like an automaton, she gathered all of her worldly possessions and placed them neatly into a blanket, which she folded and tied with a string. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and waited. Cameron was dead. She couldn't believe it. She thrust her sorrow deep inside and felt only numbness. It seemed so unreal. What was going to happen next?

After some time had passed, the bedroom door opened. Her father stood there. For a moment, he looked at her as she sat beside her little bundle, her face so pale that it looked like milk. "Come on." he ordered.

She stood up, picked up her bundle and slowly advanced.

He grabbed her arm and impatiently pulled her out. No one else was around. Cameron's body was no longer lying in the hallway. Her father's grip on her arm hurt. She knew that she'd probably have bruises tomorrow. He kept the grip on her arm as he took her outside and put her on the wagon. Cameron's body, wrapped in a grey blanket and tied with twine lay in the back. Beside the body, a small bundle that contained all his worldly possessions. On top of that bundle, his ocarina.

When she saw the ocarina, the tears threatened to flow again. She straightened her back and sat stiffly beside her father. Father and daughter did not exchange one word. He tapped the horses with the reins, and the wagon jerked forward.

For days they travelled across the plains, leaving the Kokiri forest far behind. Soon the desert sands loomed ahead: The Haunted Wastelands--an unwelcoming place where food and water were scarce. He drove as far as he dared into the dangerous sands, then he ordered her off the wagon. He threw her bundle down at her, then he stood and heaved the rotting corpse off so that it landed beside her. He tossed the boy's pathetic bundle and the ocarina as well. Then he turned the wagon and headed the horses back in the direction they had come. When he was nearly out of earshot, he heard her wail. "Daaaaaad!"

He felt as if he and his entire family had been cursed. He knew nothing would ever be the same again.


	3. Exiled

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

**Chapter 3: Exiled**

The Gerudo lookout stood on the platform overlooking the Haunted Wasteland. In the distance, the Desert Colossus rose above the cloud of sand that constantly hovered at the slightest wind. She held the magical "Eye of Truth" up and scanned the horizons, as she had many a time that morning. Nothing weird. Yet, something bothered the young woman. She didn't know what it was. Maybe it was a shift of the wind, or the restless nature of it...as if the wind was trying to misguide someone...it wouldn't be the first time that such a malevolent force manifested itself in that way. She looked down at the Gerudos at the gate and wondered if she should send out a scout, or wait and see. It would have to be something more serious than "a feeling" in order for her to leave her post. She decided to wait and see.

The day extended into noon, the scorching sun beating down on everyone without mercy. The wind died down, but that could mean it was allowing the sun to burn whoever it was that was lost out there. The feeling had not left. She had lived in the desert too long not to ignore her feelings any longer. She climbed down the ladder and readied her horse. She took 3 bottles of water and wrapped her turban around her head. She protected her face and shoulders as well. She mounted her steed and approached the gates.

The two there raised their eyebrows. One said: "It's high noon." _Is she insane?_

"Someone's out there." she said simply.

The two exchanged startled glances. They opened the gates and she set her horse to a lope. She searched the desert for the remainder of the day, scouting farther afield than she ever had before. The feeling, however, did not fade or give way to doubt or discouragement, infact, she felt even more anxious as the day neared its end, that there was more than just one person lost out here. Something bad had happened, she was sure of this.

She ignored the distracting wind. She was desert born, and wise to its misleading ways. She held up the eye of truth and scanned the nearby desert once again. Nothing out of the ordinary revealed itself...but there... in the fading light... she noticed a dot of blue. She blinked. It was gone. She noted the direction and lashed her tired horse into a gallop.

When they neared the area where she had seen the tiny glow, she slowed the horse's pace, and then the horse suddenly shied. She looked down, and saw a half-buried body in the sand. She dismounted lightly and grabbed a bottle of water. She turned the body, checking for signs of life. She was alive, by Nayru! She hoped she wasn't too late. She trickled water into the parched and swollen lips of the young woman. Nayru! she was young! There were bruises across half her face and along one arm. _What happened here?_ _How did she end up here in this place? _Her pointy ears declared her Hyrulian. She moaned.

The scout looked around for any other bodies, but saw none. She scanned the horizons once again. She hoisted the half-dead girl up over the horse's withers, then she jumped up with great agility and spurred the horse into a mile-eating lope. She knew she should rest the animal, but she feared the young woman would not make it throught the night. Why hadn't she left earlier, when she had first notice the errant winds; when that feeling of dread and anxiety had first come to her?

Elena dreamed. Cameron was inviting her for a horseback ride. They stood on the rails inside the barn. The dappled horse stood still while the two climbed onto her back. She had a broad back, she was a work horse, but she was docile enough to allow anyone to ride her, for once upon a time, she had carried knights into battle. Elena could feel Cameron's warm hand in hers as she reached for it when he extended it out to her. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his warm body through his rough shirt. She could feel him move and breathe... a deep gong of joy reverbrated throughout her being. She leaned her cheek against his back and closed her eyes for a moment. He was here! He was so alive. He kicked the sides of the horse and let out a small whoop of pleasure when the mare started to move. The power of the horse was astounding. In three strides, they were past the wide mouth of the barn and in the sudden sunshine. The horse ran through the green meadow just outside the barn, and in ten strides, was outside the gate.

Elena felt as if she were floating. They both laughed from pure joy, and let the horse run across the wild prairie for as long as she wanted. They finally came to a stop beside a small stream overhung with willows and ash. The horse bent her head to the stream and drank her fill. Cameron twisted around and wrapped his arm around Elena's waist. Quicker than a wink, he pulled her around and settled her infront of him. He looked into her eyes for a moment, then kissed her deeply. She twined her arms around his neck and felt that familiar thrill shoot down into her entire body. He pulled her even closer up against his body. _Would he meld them into one being?_ she wondered, and she turned so that she could wrap both of her legs around his waist.

They didn't even remove their clothes. She made some quick adjustments to her dress and he merely undid his crude belt, and then they were as intimately joined as they could. They were dizzy with desire and began sliding off the back of the mare. Entangled in each others' embrace, they fell slowly, rolling through the air. When they landed, the ground was softer than a bed, but she jerked awake. Cameron was gone. The stream and the horse were replaced with a dim room of adobe construction.

She let out a startled kind of sound and someone came to kneel beside her. They tilted her head and placed a mug of cool water to her lips. She drank greedily, then sank back down into the bed. Her body reverbrated with the memory of the dream. She stared at the opposite walls, uninterested in who had administered the water to her. The loss of Cameron was still too sudden and fresh. She had no inspiration for what to do next. She draped one arm over her waist and blinked her eyes. A lump seemed permanently lodged in her throat and she found no desire to speak. She was wide awake...

The next few days were spent recovering. Her legs could hardly hold her up, although she ate a great deal and slept for long hours. People came and went, but she was hardly aware of them. Cool hands were placed on her sunburnt forehead every so often, and someone supported her to the privy when the need arose, but it was four full days before she finally could walk across the floor without her legs trembling, and even then, she was left breathless, as if she had run 100 meters. She couldn't even smile at this accomplishment, her heart had died with him, and it seemed to take a real effort to make it beat from moment to moment. The world had dimmed when he had died, and colors that had once seemed so brilliant and wondrous were flat and meaningless.

Her body shuddered remembering that stretch of floor between her chair at the table and the place where he had fallen. She broke into a sweat at the memory, and began a loud, uncontrollable keening. It had been the moment his spirit had started to leave his body, and by the time she got to his side, his spirit had faded away...she couldn't be fast enough to save him. Her father had attacked viciously and unexpectedly. It had not been something she could have foreseen... Her legs seemed rubbery and ineffectual in her memory, although, in truth, she had gone across the room with astounding swiftness. "Dad!" she said, even now, "Dad!" with such sorrow that those around her thought that it was her father she mourned. When in fact, it was the shock of his actions that caused such sorrow. "Oh Farore," she groaned out loud, "why?" and her body continued its shuddering. Other than that, she said nothing. Any who spoke to her went unheard. Her eyes saw a different scene than the one in the Gerudo Hideout.

No Gerudo offered any medicine to the girl. Although they couldn't know what the girl had experienced, they had discovered her condition when they had washed the sand away and treated her sunburn. They had only exchanged glances, but outside the room, they consulted, and decided that any herb that they could have administered for her mind and nerves, must be held in reserve.

It took a while before the shuddering stopped completely.

She took it upon herself to explore her surroundings a little, for she became tired of lying in bed all the time. She didn't know what was happening to her body, for it seemed to not have the strength and vigour it once had. She had to rest often. They had her work in the nearby gardens, but she did so listlessly. She worked in the scullery, the laundry and the nursery in turns. She avoided the stables...

Days and weeks and months passed by. Her stomach became distended with the child she carried. She could feel it move within her, but she was so despondant at times that she would weep uncontrollably. She learned to do this in private... She neither dreaded the day nor welcomed the day on which the child would be born, and when it came time, she merely endured. The sweat poured from her face, and the waves of constrictions came closer and closer together so it seemed that she could hardly catch her breath. She wanted to get out of her body. And finally, she felt the infant slip out, and a great relief overtook her. She couldn't help but smile, and it was the first time they had ever seen one on her face.

Cameron's child, she welcomed gently, and as he had predicted, it was a girl, and as he had wished, she named her after herself: Eleana, and so Navi became human, bearing upon herself the curse of the Kokiri, and the curse of the Deku Tree. She opened her eyes and stared up at her dark-haired mother and saw her weep. She gurgled happily.


	4. Eleana

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

**Chapter 4: Eleana**

As a Hylian that lived amoung the Gerudo for some time now, Eleana was used to the stares, and the Gerudo were used to her. She knew all that there was to know about the desert folk, in fact, she quickly learned how to become a master thief. As one who authentically impersonated a Hylian, she found that many of the things she managed to steal were of higher quality than the regular Gerudo thief could get. Not that they couldn't if they tried. They were really really talented.

She had lived amoung them for 20 years already, having passed the rituals at the Desert Colossus four years previously. There had been some debate at the time regarding her race, but the arguement was weak, since she was a woman, and one of the sexiest women ever to grace the halls of that temple. Stupid men would fall down to worship her while she stole every cent they had. It was a potential well respected by the Gerudo. She had bed countless men already merely for the sake of trinkets, and had garnered for herself a reputation that inspired the Gerudo and angered the Hylians.

Her reputation as a cold-hearted thief was posted everywhere within the Kingdom. The Captain of the Guards in Hyrule had set every trap he could conceive in order to capture her, but still, she eluded his snares time and again. Because of her, the Hylians were considering blockading the Gerudo within their own hideout. This animosity was the beginning of broken relations between the two kingdoms.

Finally, one day, she crossed the line. She stole something in the possession of a well-trained and shadow-skilled Kakarikan. His white hair and colorless eyes proclaimed him an albino, and his toughness was born of the ridicule he had endured because of it. He had, over the years, honed his skills to the apex of perfection, winning the respect, finally, of his people, when the King of Hyrule had chosen him as one of his trustworthy body-guards.

He easily carried his tall frame, every muscle of his body toned and disciplined. He excelled in skill with all weapons, including the long sword, the throwing knife, the staff, and the long bow. Inspite of his size and coloring, he could meld into the landscape and hide. Inspite of his stillness, he could be as swift as a stooping eagle. He could hear the merest whisper, and smell the subtlest odors. He had eyesight like an owl, and to protect it, he wore darkly tinted spectacles during the day. He was nobody's fool.

That was why the King had entrusted to him the royal seal, to carry as a sign to others, his authority being equal to the King's while it was in his possession. With this seal, he would be recognized by the Gorons, the Zoras and the Gerudos as well as by his own people.

He had heard the rumors of a highly skilled Gerudo thief making her way into the richest and most secure places in Hyrule. He never thought, for one instant that he would have the pleasure of meeting her face to face...

Eleana walked briskly through the shady woodland. It was nearing high noon, and she decided to scout around for a likely place where she might make a little camp and eat some of the lunch she carried in her pack. She wore a long, innocuous brown cloak, of coarsely woven material. It had a deep hood that she could quickly use to cover her shining golden tresses and shadow her deep blue eyes. It couldn't quite hide the sensuous curve of her lips, however, not to someone with eyes as sharp as his were... The cloak hid her twin scimitars better than it did the swell of her breasts. No one would ever mistake her for a man, even in this rough garment. Her curled-toed shoes peeked out from underneath upon occasion, depending on the length of her stride, and it was a dead give-away as to her origins, if one was observant enough, as he was...Only Gerudo women wore these slippers upon their feet.

She came upon his campfire situated on the rocky banks of the river. He had caught a couple of fish and had roasted and eaten them. He had then stretched out on his dark cloak and fell fast asleep. The sound of the river disguised, somewhat, her soft-padded approach.

She stayed down-wind of him, as a precaution. He looked dangerous, but as usual, she had to see if there was anything at all of value...She paused to gaze upon his perfect features...oh, he would be a lovely diversion, she thought, but she sensed that he would be troublesome and she allowed her gaze to rove up and down his body in admiration. His tight pants really didn't leave much to the imagination, she thought. She noticed that he had removed his boots. They were a nice item, and she considered stealing them. But what held her interest, was a signet ring upon his right index finger. _It's gold!_ she realized. And with an intricate carving of a lion rampant upon the triforce, the words "Hyrule" stamped at the bottom. She licked her lips, not knowing what her actions would set in motion.

Gently, slowly, glad that the ring was too large for him, she removed the trinket. She could feel the warmth of his hand as the tips of her fingers touched the golden circle. She had been holding her breath. She stepped quickly away a few paces and watched him, alert to any change in him. Her eyes flicked to the shiny leather boots. She had seen Royal elite soldiers wear such boots. This was a bothersome detail, and she hesitated, weighing the risks against the rewards.

She tip-toed around him, knowing that she would be upwind of him for a couple of moments. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He could awaken at any moment. Her heart began to pound with an excitement she hadn't felt for ages. Her every instinct screamed how dangerous he was to her. Her feet, at any moment, even though slippered, could knock one rock against another, for she couldn't watch where she placed her feet. She had to do this as if blindfolded, using every skill at her command. She stretched out her arm to reach the boots, going from memory their location, their situation, their relationship to the rest of the landscape. But quickness as well as silence was her friend. She felt the smooth leather with the tips of her fingers...

She grabbed the boots and retreated as quickly as she dared, still keeping her eyes on him for as long as possible. Once at a safe distance, she turned and lightly ran the rest of the way toward the path. From there,she looked back at him. Her heart jumped to her throat when she saw him standing there staring at her with his red eyes glinting. With a bravado she didn't feel, she lifted the boots and saluted him, plastering a saucy smile upon her features. Then she turned and ran as swiftly as possible down the path. The hood flew back and her golden mane streamed out behind her. The front of the cloak parted, revealing her party-colored clothes, an expanse of flat belly, a flash of golden tan, smooth long arms that pumped wildly.

After about a mile, she tossed the boots as far into the woods as she could. He would have to stop and search for them. As much as she wanted to, she didn't waste time looking back to seek him ...she kept her ears cocked for his footfalls behind her, and kept her eyes on the treacherous path ahead. Tree roots, random branches fallen from some long-ago wind storm, she took them all in stride, ducking, jumping, dodging. Although she did not hear him, she kept up her wild pace for as long as she could. It wasn't the sere desert air, but the humid forest air at high noon. It was harder to draw in.

Suddenly, with a flash, he was standing infront of her, his tall body blocking the path. He had this really smug expression on his face, and she barely had time to wonder how it was he was infront of her. She did not slow at all. She could see the Plains of Hyrule just beyond him...

Her reactions quicker than he expected, she dodged his outstretched arm and ducked under it as she passed him.

He was stunned by her beauty. She was Hylian, not Gerudo! Her golden hair was wild, her blue eyes were wide and ingenuous. Her pointy ears were peirced with a row of small golden hoops. She passed by him so closely, he could feel the warmth radiating from her skin, and smell the desert sun. He even noticed a small tattoo nestled on the curve of her neck when her hair lifted. She ran like the wind. She should have been gasping by now, he thought. After a mile at full sprint, it wasn't possible for anyone ordinary to continue the punishing pace. He had miscalculated.

He reached out quickly, without thought, and caught a handful of hair as it swept by. It pulled her up short, and brought her close to him. He was about to say that she had something that belonged to him, but had no time before she had drawn a deadly-looking scimitar from out of nowhere and slashed downward.

He looked down with some surprise at the handful of golden strands that were wedged between his fingers. She had cut off her own hair!

She backed away from him and paused, a slight smile lighting her features. They each had a moment to stare at one another. His look of astonishment was priceless. From her pack, she retrieved one of the most valuable items she had ever come across. Well, in lieu of a horse... and she place upon her head a cute little bunny hood. With a laugh, she turned, and set off for the open field, dust from her passing raising up in the still hot air, while he was left with his mouth slightly ajar, looking foolish. He did not let go of the cut strands of her hair, but arranged them into a smoothed knot and placed them slowly and thoughtfully into his pouch.

He set his mouth into a grim line. He would have to hunt her down. She could do too much damage with the royal seal. Why hadn't he stopped her when he had first sensed her presence? His own arrogance had allowed him to think that he could easily catch her. Now he was paying the price for that attitude. He swore softly and went to retrieve his boots.

The King was going to be pissed.


	5. Elusive

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

**Chapter 5: Elusive**

Eleana stopped at the entrance to Lake Hylia and removed the bunny hood. She was grimy with sweat and dust and wanted nothing more than to dive into the cool lake water and bathe. She sheathed her scimitar and put the bunny hood away, then bent over, her palms on her knees, catching her breath. It felt like her heart would pound its way out of her chest, and she straightened up again, feeling a tad nauseous.

Whoever that white-haired man was...she felt in her pocket and pulled out the ring...what he carried must have been pretty important. She examined the intricate carving, weighed it in her palm, and wondered if she had perhaps, this time, gone a bit too far. It had been an implusive thing to do. She hadn't meant to target him. It was just that...it was just that he was laying there so unconscious-like. She couldn't pass up an opprotunity like that! There was no way in the 5 kingdoms that she'd ever steal from that type of guy using any other method. She sensed that whatever sort of wile that she may have otherwise used upon him wouldn't have worked. She curled her hand around the ring. Maybe she should have taken the boots and left the ring...

As she had run passed him, she couldn't help but notice again his aquiline features, his lean frame, the warmth radiating from his body (she had been _that_ close to him!), the scent of the river on his hands...

She trembled a little and started to walk toward the lake. Partly she trembled from running all out like that while she had been hungry for lunch. Partly she trembled from the memory of how he had appeared before her, with that smug look on his face... She put a hand on her truncated locks. A good six inches were missing from the hair at the back of her head. He had nearly caught her. Pulling out the scimitar had been a mere reaction for her. A reaction she now appreciated. She pocketed the ring and adjusted her brown cloak around her body.

It was still only a little past noon. She went to the Lake's edge and stripped off all of her clothing, leaving them in a heap on the beach. She walked into the lake until the clear water was at knee height, then she knelt into the coolness and gradually lay down and floated. She lazily turned over, washing her whole body of the ordeal. Once she felt refreshed, she shook out her dusty, sweaty clothing and washed them in the lake water as well. She wrung them out and sunned them upon a near-by rock.

Having nothing else to wear, she sat naked on the beach beside her pack and reached into it for her lunch. She ate ravenously. She couldn't wait to get back to the hideout and show them her latest accomplishment. She attempted to untangle her damp hair with her fingers, then she brought out the comb and patiently began tugging at the knots with that. When her hair was smooth enough for her liking, she got up and turned the damp clothing over. The hot sun was drying everything quickly.

She took her cloak into the shade of a nearby tree and spread it out. She lay down on it and wrapped herself up. Soon, the waves of fatigue overcame her and she slept. And while she slept, she dreampt of a great spreading tree that lived deep within the emerald confines of the Kokiri forest. The tree hummed a strange lullaby, much like the one her mother used to play for her when she was a child. She awoke with tears on her face. The sun was sitting on the horizon, about to set. She looked up at the white-haired man who stood above her, the point of his sword at her heart.

She instantly rolled away and stood up. He held up her scimitars and the bunny hood in his other hand and smiled at her.

She stood still, as if her body were sculpted, the lake wind ruffling through her hair, her cool blue gaze upon him.

"Where is it?" he asked, keeping his eyes on her face. There was no use admitting that the way she stood before him now, she had no effect on him, because she obviously did. He could feel the thud in his chest accelerate, and the blood in his veins begin to rush. She wasn't the least bit embarassed. Even the tears she had cried in her sleep she had not wiped away. She was as she is. This was one scene that he would not want to erase from his memory. She was like a wild nymph that he had caught off guard. In two seconds, she was likely to disappear from his sight forever, as elusive as the rarest bird.

The entire afternoon he had spent tracking her he also spent planning what he ought do with her once he found her. The punishment for what she had done was death. The punishment for simple thievery was the whip. He hated to mar that beauty, but he detested execution. He dropped the scimitars and the hood onto the ground and reached around for the long, leather whip. It was the kind such as oxen drivers used. It was long, and wielded properly, it could be felt through the thickest hide...

He could see in her eyes that she divined his intention. She knew as well as he what her punishment would be for what she had done. She lowered her gaze from his and lifted her hands. He wasn't sure what to expect...so he held his breath when she reached around and pulled all of her hair forward, over one shoulder. Then she turned compliantly toward the tree and put her arms around it. Her back was to him, and he could see that other whips had already tasted her blood, for thin white lines were clearly visible on her tan. He hesitated for the first time. The marks on her back angered him. There were ways to wield the whip without breaking the skin or drawing blood. He had meant only to raise three welts on her. Someone before him hadn't been very skilled, or hadn't cared one whit about her.

"Tie my hands." she instructed dully. She had already closed her eyes and sent her mind to some other place. Some place cool and dark and far away from this hot, wretched world. The pain was going to come again. Yet, she could not suppress a shudder.

Instead, she heard his voice. "Look," he said quietly. "Just give the seal back, and you can go."

_Seal?_ she thought. Her mind froze and her mouth became dry. She dropped her hands from around the tree and turned until she was beside him. She knelt down, feeling numb, then whipped her hair forward and bowed her head, exposing the back of her neck to him. "My life is yours." she said.

He drew his sword and held it above her neck. "Why did you take it?" he cried out passionately, not wanting to do this thing, yet obeying her. Even this thief knew she had done treason.

"Does it matter?" she asked quietly. If he didn't do it soon, she knew that she would start trembling, and if that started, she would loose all control of herself and become a blubbering idiot. She could still feel the pinch of dried tears on her cheek from that dream she had earlier. "Why do you hesitate?" she shouted when he had done nothing. He did not answer her, nor did he move. He knew that no one would blame him if he took her life here and now. In fact, many would applaud him for ridding the country of the blight she put on it. But killing an unarmed woman, a _naked_ woman...it went against his own personal ethic. It didn't matter what she had done. She had never stolen anyone's life. He tried to brace himself to deliver the blow.

In a flash, she stood up, knocking his blade aside. She grabbed the hilt from his nerveless fingers and tossed the sword away. She felt his hands grab her head. She instinctively grabbed his wrists. "Why do you dress like that?" he asked quietly, and brought her lips to his. Her feet left the ground, and she held onto him for dear life.

After a long moment, he put her back down onto the ground. At once, he felt the sting of her slap on his cheek. Tears began streaming down her cheeks, and she beat at him ineffectually. "Kill me!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I'll take it again! and I'll keep taking it until you kill me!"

She was wild. He grabbed her wrists, put both of them in one of his hands, then gave her a resounding smack across the face. _Oh great! What a wonderful beginning_ he thought. _Naked crazy girl. By Farore, this can't be right._ He dragged her across to where her clothes were. "Put your clothes on, by Farore, Din and Nayru, you crazy woman!"

But he didn't dare turn his back on her or take his eyes from her.

She obediantly put her clothes back on, glowering all the while. He drew the knife from where it had been sheathed: tied to his thigh within his easy reach, and when she turned to him again, this time, slightly more decent than before, he once again demanded: "Give it to me now, or by all the goddesses and by the sacred triforce, I will search you myself, and quite frankly, I can think of a couple of places you won't like me searching!"

She raised her chin and her eyes glinted dangerously. "It's over there, in my cloak."

He grabbed her arm and they went back to the tree. At knife-point, she retrieved the royal seal and handed it back to him. He delivered a blow behind her ear and she collapsed. He placed the ring safely into its pouch. He wrapped her limp body in the cloak and tied her securely. He tossed her easily over his shoulder. He retrieved her pack from the beach and whistled for his horse. It was off to Hyrule jail for her. She was beyond "out of control".

"You are one troublesome woman." he muttered, even though he knew she couldn't hear him...He knew she would not be treated well by the Hylians, but there was nothing else he could do. He wasn't going to tell anyone that she had stolen the royal seal. He would really look foolish, and besides, they would then have to execute her.

The taste of her lips was still in his mouth. _Why had I done that?_ he wondered. He thought that he was beyond any such weakness. He thought he had placed all of his impulses under an iron control. Who knew she'd roll out of her blanket like that? He hadn't known or expected her to be naked beneath it. And he definately had not expected her to stand so...so naturally infront of him, not even attempting to cover herself up, merely gazing at him with those eyes. He had never seen eyes of that blue before. He didn't know how to describe it, it seemed a _magical_ color. It was no wonder she had the ability to steal men blind. She obviously knew the effect she had on them...


	6. Entrapment

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

**Chapter 6: Entrapment**

Half-way between the Lake and the town of Hyrule, they stopped at a ranch for the night. She knew that she didn't have much hope. He was the most vigilant man she had ever met. Much more intelligent than that stupid captain of police. Her head ached from that blow he had given her.

"What's your name?" she wanted to know.

It was very dark. He had taken off his tinted glasses once the sun had set, and seemed to have no trouble making his way by moonlight. He turned his eyes her way, and when he fixed them on her, she had absolutely no desire to ask him another thing. It struck her that his paleness was much like the moonshine. His long colorless hair, his white skin, they all matched the silvery cast of the nightscape that surrounded them. He seemed otherworldly, even ghostly. A night creature.

_She's afraid of me. _he realized. He wasn't sure that he wanted her to be afraid of him. Perhaps she was finally realizing the predicament she was in. The temptation to take advantage of her fear was rising within him. He kept having to fight it off. Her proximity distracted him. The heat from her body, the feel of her body...how easy it would be to love her. No one knew where they were or what they were up to . Meeting each other had been pure co-incidence. He didn't really have to take her anywhere. He had the seal safely tucked away. He could just let her go, and no one would be the wiser.

The ranch owner was already asleep, so he left a note on the ranch house door, letting them know that they would be in the barn. He then led the horse and its burden into its dim interior. He lit a lantern and hung it from the nearby post. He pulled her off of the horse and stood her up. She started to teeter, so he leaned her against one of the stalls. He busied himself with unsaddling the horse. He led the beast into a nearby stall and took care of its needs. The barn was warm and smelled of cows and horses. Then he pulled out a tub from an empty stall and began filling it with water, bucket by bucket, alternating hot with cold, until the water was at the right level and temperature. He turned his back to her and stripped off his shirt.

She couldn't help but stare at him. His skin was perfectly white, without any blemish. In places, she could clearly see the blue network of veins that ran underneath his skin. His body was spare, lean, the muscles on his shoulders and fore-arms were corded and hard from constant work. She couldn't tear her eyes away, nor did she want to, as he removed his pants and stepped into the water. For the first time, he closed his eyes, but two seconds later, said: "I can hear you, and if you move, I'll know it. I can hear the mice in that last stall over there. There's three of them."

"I have to itch my nose." she complained.

"So, suffer." he said languidly.

A little while later, she said: "I have to pee."

"Hold it." he instructed.

"I've been holding it." she said a little more stridently.

"I'm not getting out of this tub." he said.

It was the sound of the water as he moved around in it. Why did the urge have to come now? "I'm going to pee! I can't hold it!" she finally yelled

"So? Pee then." he was unperturbed.

"Then I'll stink!" she said.

"I like stinky." he replied.

"Fine!"

"Fine." he sounded half asleep.

_ohgod ohgod ohgod ohgod_ she started seriously struggling with her bonds. The last time she had been in such desperate straits had been at the ritual held in the Desert Colossus when she was 16. They had bound her then, and tested the limits of her endurance, concieving of every possible torture she might encounter if she were ever caught. They made her endure all kinds of things, because they had to know whether she would betray them. They needed to know her breaking point. True, she triumphed, but had nearly been dead from the effort. They had to carry her out...Some of the Gerudo had commented then, that the test had been extra harsh because of her Hylian heritage. Her recovery took two weeks, and she had garnered their grudging approval.

But his knots, the ones that encircled her now, seemed to become tighter, not looser, with every move she made. She couldn't figure out how he had done it, but she couldn't help but struggle.

He opened one eye and watched her for a moment. _What an idiot!_ he thought, and closed his eye.

Suddenly, she stopped struggling and became quiet. The smell of her urine wafted and mixed with the other animal smells in the barn. He smiled.

"Bastard!" she said.

He laughed once, and continued bathing. "Now I'll know where you are, just by your smell." he needled.

She felt her face go red. No man had ever treated her like this! It was outrageous. She wasn't some animal! He might seem astonishing, but he certainly had a cruel streak in him. "Get me out of this!" she demanded. "I will SCREAM!" she was absolutely apoplectic.

"If you scream, you'll onlly bother the horses and cows. I know for a fact that the rancher is a very heavy sleeper. Scream away."

She let out the loudest scream she could, for as long as she could. He considered knocking her out again. But not yet. He wanted to soak some more. Chasing after her all the hot afternoon had been a real pain. He really needed this bath. He supposed that all he really had to do was gag her. Knocking her out could become habitual. He didn't think that it would be good for her if it happened too often. He sank beneath the water surface and stayed there for a moment, listening to her scream continue, but in a much more muffled tone. _Ah, that's better._ but he knew he couldn't stay under water indefinately. But neither could she scream indefinately.

She continued screaming until her voice became hoarse and she had to stop because her throat was raw.

"See?" he said smugly. "Nobody came."

She was still catching her breath. "You are insufferable!" she croaked.

He stood up in the tub and started soaping up. "Hey, you want to come over here and wash my back?" he asked innocently, even offering her the bar of soap. "Oh, sorry, I forgot," he said without missing a beat. "You're all tied up. Never mind, then." and he continued washing up.

"You must think you're pretty funny." she whispered vehemently. "And quit playing with yourself."

"Gotta clean everywhere." He laughed, then stepped out of the tub, got a bucket of fresh water and sluiced it over himself. He repeated the procedure several times until all the soap was thoroughly rinsed off. She watched him silently, miserable and angry, then she started falling over, and landed on the hard wooden planks with a resounding thud. Unable to break her fall with her arms, she landed painfully, but refused to make anything of it. She was starting to get itchy on top of the smelliness, but she decided to endure it rather than let him see her misery. She rolled away from the end of the stall. It was too close to the back end of a cow. With her present luck, the cow probably would have lifted its tail and let go a stream of cow pie right on her. It was the last thing she needed. This was not sexy. She was hungry and sore...

_Oh god, when will this end? How did I ever let myself get caught like this?_ She remembered how close she had been to the Gerudo Hideout. It was only a hop, skip and a jump away from the lake. _Why did I fall asleep for so long?_ and she remembered the dream that she had had of the tree. She closed her eyes, and she could almost see it, and she thought, suddenly of her ocarina...where _was_ her ocarina? He had taken her stuff, or did her little pack still lay on the beach, abandoned and pathetic? She opened her eyes to look around where he had stored the packs. Was hers amoung them? That ocarina and the clothes on her back was all that she owned. She didn't know why, but the thought of parting with it nearly broke her heart. It meant more to her than the most valuable jewel in the land. She thought it was even surpassing in value the spiritual stones that she had seen once at the Temple of Time.

_God, if the King of Hyrule had known I was there..._

She finally spotted her pack behind his, and a wave of relief washed over her. She relaxed, closed her eyes again and began humming the tune in her head. As uncomfortable and hungry and itchy and stinky as she was, she was exhausted by this ordeal, and soon fell asleep. Some parts of her body were becoming numb because of the way the rope had tightened when she had struggled, but the tune seemed to loosen them and the itchiness seemed to go away, and the stench was replaced by something much sweeter.

Startled, he looked at her. Something unusual was happening. He took the towel off his head and put it around his neck. He had put on a clean shirt and stuffed his dirty sweaty clothes in the tub he had just gotten out of. _All the knots were undone!_ Yet she was sound asleep. _What is this?_ he wondered. He had been right, there _was_ something magical about her. He felt a kind of twisting sensation on the inside of him when he realized that even with all of his vigilance, she may not be as easy to keep as he had first thought.

He got down on all fours and approached her cautiously. His own soapy smell kept him from noticing her scent, but still, he would have noticed the rank odor of drying urine from this distance. It was gone. This was astonishing! He had never come across anything like this before.

The lantern guttered and went out. He gazed at her sleeping face in the sputtering light, then he lowered his lips to hers until they were only an inch away. He stopped. The darkness became complete. He could feel her breath on his face. It was soft and slow and even. He lifted his head. She was probably used to being kissed alot. But this would be stealing. He soundlessly backed away. He leaned against a post and thought for a while. He remembered the layout of the barn in his mind. The only escape route was the door they had entered. He grabbed his cloak and made his way to the door. If she could get out of those ropes, she might be able to sneak past him. But if he guarded the only way out...he didn't think it would be enough. He unravelled a thread from the cloak and strung it across the doorway. That might do it..

He brooded for a while, thinking about where she was from and how she had ended up doing what she did. All her experiences till now culminated in this humiliation that he had made her endure this night. She seemed a contradiction within herself: magical and tough packaged together in this irresistable wrapping. She didn't seem as if she belonged with either Gerudo or Hylian. He wondered if she even knew that she had magic, remembering that she had tried to struggle against his knots. Why hadn't she used her magic then?

He had been on his way to Zora's Domain before he had met her. They were expecting him yesterday evening. If he didn't show, they would be sending out search parties and a messenger to the King of Hyrule. Him not showing up was a snub to the Zorans. They would consider it a great offense. He had an obligation to let them know that he had been delayed. Otherwise all hell may break loose.

The King had sent him because of his coloring. But for the gills and fins, he looked a great deal like them. He, however, had never been honored by that kingdom with any special awards. To those they favored, they bestowed their special gifts of silver and golden scales which enabled anyone to swim long distances underwater. He was not considered trustworthy. Having the golden scale enabled him access to their sacred temple at the Lake. He had no desire to go there, but symbolically, as the emmisary of the King of Hyrule, it would be a great diplomatic coup. The King would now loose trust in him.

But now he had her to worry about. He figured having her in tow would forgive him any transgression he may have made. But if she escaped, they would never know that she had been in his possession. All the evidence he had of their encounter was a knot of hair he had placed in his pouch. He doubted that it would be any good. No, he decided, even if it meant not sleeping for the next 3 days, he would ensure that she was placed with maximum security at the castle. She had escaped from that dunderhead police captain 3 times already, so obviously she couldn't be kept at the town jail.

The mystery of who she was would have to wait.


	7. Eric

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

**Chapter 7: Eric**

Before the sun rose, he wrung out his clothes and hung them over the edge of the stall. He would have to part with them. He couldn't wait for them to dry. It was time to go. He donned his spare set of clothes and saddled the horse. He emptied the water from the tub. Before she awoke, he tied her wrists securely to a nearby post and went out to seek another mount. He did not want to unnecessarily tire his own steed with her extra weight. He needed to get a messenger out to the Zoras before they took any action. He made all these arrangements, then returned to the barn with some food.

She was awake. He handed her some bread, milk, boiled eggs, and a slice or two of melon, which she downed ravenously. Neither of them spoke a word. He untied her from the post and led her to the privy and waited while she did what she had to do. When she emerged, she didn't even look at him. Last night's memory was still too fresh. He helped her onto her horse. He tied her feet together, threading the rope beneath the horse's chest. He checked the knots at her wrists, then put on his shades.

He grabbed the reins of her horse and mounted his own. He looked around. The rancher's little boy was the only spectator. He nudged his horse to a walk and left the ranch.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. He didn't want to stop for any lunch and she didn't complain. At mid afternoon, they entered the town. Everyone stopped to stare at them. He made his way past them without one word, not even a nod of acknowlegment. He felt grim, so he thought that he must have looked pretty grim. It wasn't that he didn't want to arrest her, but the prospect of having to explain this without bringing the seal into the conversation was going to be tricky. She had a notoriety even amoung thieves, yet he couldn't fight the feeling that he was leading a lamb to the slaughter.

Without a word being exchanged at the gate, the guard let him in. They all stared at her. His expression brooked no questions. They all knew something unusual had occured. He was back before he ought to be. They weren't expecting him for another week. They did not recognize her, at first, as the wanted Gerudo thief. But amoung all the people who had followed them to the gates, someone must have known something about her. Some started shouting insolent remarks at her, one or two people began picking rocks. The guards blocked the crowd from entering.

At the inner gate, they waited. He knew the king would be angry. Bringing her to justice probably wasn't going to alleviate his situation.

The messenger he had sent to announce his presence to the King returned. "You are to take the prisoner to the dungeons and report to the King at once." The page said in his shrill little voice.

The dungeons might hold her. He gave the reins of her horse to the guard that had accompanied the page. He dismounted and handed the reins of his own horse to the stable boy that just came running up. He straightened his immaculate formal coat. It was white with gold braid on the collar. It fit him perfectly, and it's length reached to the top of his knees. His legs were encased in fawn colored riding pants that were neither too tight, nor too loose. These were tucked into his formal black riding boots that Eleana had stolen a mere two days ago and thrown into the bushes.

It was time to face the music. He quickly made his way to the throne room where he was stiffly greeted. He gave the most cursory of bows and answered every question the regent put to him. After a few minutes of these empty motions, they entered the antechamber behind the throne.

The King exploded. "I sent you on a mission, Eric, and I trusted you to finish that mission, and you say that you didn't even start it!"

Eric remained silent. Even now, within his mind, he debated whether or not telling him of the seal would be good. The reprecussions of not telling him now would be worse if the King found out later. Having to jettison the mission because the seal was stolen was probably the only thing that would make sense in this situation. He rested his hand absently on the hilt of his sword.

The King ranted for a while then became silent. He studied his friend's face. He had never seen such a stony expression. The silence stretched out. "She out-manuevered you, didn't she?" the King finally said. He knew the man had never been bested in any competition.

He took out the bunny hood and placed it on the table. "She had this." he said.

The King glanced at it. It looked like a child's costume. He raised his eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of this thing? You put it on, and you can run forever without being tired." Eric said. When he noticed the King's skeptical expression, he said: "You want to try it? I saw her put it on after she had been sprinting for a mile, and she got to Lake Hylia in no time flat. It took me all afternoon to track her down."

"What did she take?" the King asked quietly.

Eric did not answer, only his eyes became like marbles and he set his lips in a thin line.

"What did she take?" he repeated, his eyes sparking with annoyance. Why wouldn't he say? "Show her to me."

The King removed the long official robe and the two men made their way to the dungeons. The place was clean but cold. The guard led them to the fourth door. She was the only prisoner. She sat on the spare wooden bench while they entered. Her hands were still tied. She did not look up at them. The door closed behind them.

"This is the King of Hyrule." Eric announced to her.

Startled, she glanced up, but then immediately lowered her eyes. She slowly stood before the most powerful man in the land.

"You are in serious trouble young lady." the King began. "Tell me why you have been brought here, so that I know you understand the seriousness of your situation."

"I took the royal seal." she said stonily.

Eric was surprised at how quickly she had admitted to it. Was she bragging? Did she want to die? Her blatant admission puzzled him.

The King was shocked. He knew it had to have been serious. Eric couldn't have completed the mission without it. And he hadn't said because...because his pride wouldn't let him? Or was there another reason?

She knelt before the King, her forehead touching the ground. "My life is yours." she said.

The two men exchanged glances. Each read perplexity in the other's face.

"Did you know what it was when you took it?" the King asked quietly, his expression changing to one of compassion. Eric glanced at him. He hadn't thought to ask that question before. She may receive clemency if she did not know what it was at the time she took it. But how could such a point be proven? The admission of a thief wasn't exactly trustworthy.

She didn't reply.

"Are you the Gerudo thief that everyone says can't be caught?"

Still, she said nothing.

"Answer the King." Eric barked the words out.

She felt her body fill with defiance.

The albino body-guard drew his sword, but kept it low.

"Isn't that a little..." the King's next word was "extreme", but he never got a chance to say it, for the woman that had been so meekly kneeling before him suddenly stood up, and in her fist was the King's own sword, which, of course, happened to be the sacred sword. _How..? When had she done that?_ He hadn't even felt a slight tug. Moreover, how had Eric known that she was going to do that? He stepped away from the circle of probable damage. _How had her hands become untied?_

"Put it down!" Eric commanded her. With the King's life suddenly in jeopardy, he would have no compunction about killing her.

_Ah, finally, he is serious! _ Her heart leapt with hope, and a slight smile settled on her features. She could feel a strange, joyful power emmanating from the sword. She lifted the sacred sword as if she was born to it and swung its deadly edge at the Kakarikan. He parried, but the force of her blow sheared his sword in half. He dodged its edge, which continued its arc with barely any hesitation whatsoever. Did she know what she had in her hands? "Get out!" he told the King, who instantly obeyed this sage advice. He quickly followed him, and they locked the door. With a rending sound, the sacred sword suddenly protruded from the door.

"She has a mighty swing!" the King exclaimed.

"With that thing, I doubt we can defeat her, even if we were an entire unit!" Eric said, remembering the one time he had seen her use her scimitar. She was quick, and had a lot of endurance.

With another blow, the door shattered entirely, and she stood in the doorway with a look of pure glee on her face. The two men froze while she stepped through the empty doorway. Wood splinters were everywhere. In her hands, the sacred sword was a destructive force. Neither of the men realized previously what huge power the sword had. They appreciated the lesson she, at this moment, taught.

"Run!" Eric told the King, and the two men ran down the hallway.

The door to the dungeon was of heavier calibre than the jail cell door. The two shoved it closed as quickly as they could, and barred it with a piece of iron. "She'll have trouble getting through that!" They turned around and faced the startled jail-keep. He stood up from the bench he had been relaxing on. Then he suddenly noticed around the edges of the door, a strange green glow. Seeing the jailer's stare, the King and Eric turned, hearing a strange hum. The air around them seemed to turn dark. There was definately a powerful force building up on the other side of the door. The three men exchanged glances. "I don't think that we should hang around." Eric said. _What sort of attack was this?_ This was worse than he thought.

Of all the things that could happen, for the sacred sword to fall into the hands of the likes of her! He had brought a viper into the garden of eden. He hadn't realized the strength she possessed. Had she planned for him to capture her so that she could gain entrance to the castle? The thought crossed his mind like a razor's edge and bit deeply. _It wasn't possible! How could she foresee any of this? How could she know that the King would visit her in the dungeon?_ It was ludicrous, yet still, he thought it.

Whatever the reason, she certainly had the upper hand now.

They were half-way down the hall when the door exploded outwards. The iron bar ricochetted off the opposite wall, and clanked to a stop after bouncing several times. The wood of the door was utterly pulverized. Eric looked back at the settling dust. This was like a bad dream, and he was the one responsible. At the moment, he could think of only one way to defeat her, but his quiver was probably at the stables with his horse. As he and the King turned the corner, he glanced back at her again. She walked through the cloud of dust that the sword had created, and was exchanging words with the jailer, who, like a fool, hadn't run.

"I don't have it!" Eric heard the man screech. Then he heard a sickening thud.

"I've got to get to the stables." Eric urgently told the King.

"I'll call the guard." the King nodded grimly. This couldn't possibly be happening, he thought. The Sage of Light had told him that only royalty could wield that weapon. His faith in the sage went down a couple notches. Every word of his now seemed more like a children's fable than anything serious. At this moment, he didn't consider the possiblility that Eleana, the notorious Gerudo thief, was royalty. But later, he did.

With a flash, the albino Kakarikan disappeared. The King dashed toward the nearest guard. In short order, the alarm rang out, and the sound of many booted feet running on marble filled the castle. With another flash, Eric re-appeared, wielding a long bow, and quickly drew three golden arrows from the quiver. In the same smooth move, he notched all three arrows onto the bow, and aimed down the hallway from which she would be emerging.

Now a blue glow advanced toward the waiting men. Eric felt awful forboding. He had seen something like this once...

Eleana sauntered around the corner, the sacred sword loosely held in her hand. All around her, a huge diamond of blue light surrounded her. She was smiling. Eric let fly all three arrows. Every arrow clanked off of the barrier that surrounded her. He slung his bow over his shoulders. He would retrieve his arrows another time. He spun around and retreated, grabbing the King by his arm, the other men closing in behind them, protecting the King from the strange woman.

_Nayru's Love!_ his mind spun with the implications. Only a hero could wield the weapons she possessed. How on earth had she gained access to such power? And for what purpose? To sneak and steal? He felt as if all the goodness had suddenly gone out of the world. Everything seemed upside down. It was as if Farore and Nayru and Din were at war with one another. These weapons were designed to protect the weak, not oppress them!

Breathless, the King and his bodyguard hid in the anteroom behind the throne. From there, a secret passage led beyond the castle grounds and into the town. But first, Eric picked up the small pack that belonged to the Hylian/Gerudo woman. He stuffed the bunny hood back into it and slung it over his shoulder.

After dealing with the crowd of soldiers, Nayru's Love started wearing off. She ran after the King and his body-guard in the direction she had noticed them taking and found herself in the throne room. It was empty. She noticed that a heavy curtain behind the throne hid a doorway. She made her way toward it and entered the antechamber. It was empty. The King's formal attire was strewn on the couch. There were no other clues regarding the two men she sought...

She bowed her head, feeling tears accumulating, overwhelmed by her failure. Her ocarina was gone forever.


	8. Extortion

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

**Chapter 8: Extortion**

The palace guards seached everywhere for the escaped prisoner, but could not find her anywhere. She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. When they looked in the room behind the throne, there was nothing to see except the King's discarded robe. They called for housekeeping to take care of it.

When the housekeeper arrived, she had her two assistants remove the robe, folding it carefully. Their attention was drawn to the metallic clank of something falling out of the folds of the voluminous garment..On the floor, glinting in the dim light, the Sacred Sword lay. The women did not have any inclination to touch it, and immediately called for the captain of the guard.

When he arrived, even he had no desire to touch the holy weapon. Instead, he had every available man search for the King. He instructed that whoever found the King, they were to inform him of the find. Not two hours later, the King and Eric arrived, breathless. They asked where the woman was that had wielded it, but no one seemed to know. She appeared to have been gone a long time.

The King examined the blade, swung it around a couple times, but could not get it to glow or hum. He sheathed it, then bade Eric sit down with him. They discussed at length the strange occurence of the Gerudo woman. "What do you suggest we do?" the King asked him. After all, Eric had been the only one to have had any success capturing the woman.

He leaned back on the couch, each arm spread on the back of it, and looked up at the ceiling. He was reluctant to share any of his thoughts with the King, for his thoughts were embroiled in a vicious circle of self-recrimination: he was the one who had brought her in. There was no getting around it in his mind. He knew he couldn't rest until he recaptured her and...and what? he wondered. _Brought her to justice?_ Wasn't that the way the thought was supposed to end? He closed his eyes and tried to get a rein on his thoughts. What a vixen she was!

"She's highly skilled." he reluctantlly admitted. "Perhaps as skilled as I. She won't make the same mistake twice. I'll have an even more difficult time capturing her. It was mere chance that I happened upon her." In his thoughts, he wondered, though, if it had been chance. He straightened up and pulled out her bag. He dumped its contents onto the coffee table and rummaged about without interest. "You may consider sealing the sword for a while within the temple." he thought that this was the most prudent advice he could give for now. "Although, the way she held it..."

"What." The King demanded, when Eric didn't finish his sentence.

Eric's mouth twitched slightly. "It may be a good idea to try and find out as much as we can concerning this woman." he finally said. "If she has the power to wield the Sacred Sword...and she has Nayru's Love, she is no ordinary person. I think we need to talk to the Sage of Light before we make any more plans."

"And what of the Zorans?" the King wanted to know.

Eric sighed. "I shall depart without delay. This time, I'll take an escort. Five good men ought to do." It rankled that the diplomatic mission had been so carelessly planned. Now they were a foot in the mud, and they hadn't even started yet.

The King was somewhat appeased. From the table, he picked up a strange looking object. It was an oblique sphere, hollow, indented with several holes. He placed his fingers over the holes and found the tips of his fingers fit comfortably within each dent. "What is this thing?" he idly asked.

Eric glanced at the ocarina and shrugged. "A peasant's toy." was all he said.

"How does it work?" he murmured to himself, experimentally placing the mouth peice to his lips. He blew, but nothing happened. He pursed his lips and blew harder, a high-pitched screech was his reward. He put it down.

Eric looked at the instrument thoughtfully. For a thief, she didn't carry a whole lot of booty in her bag. He would have thought that the things she carried would have a lot more value to them. But like the bunny hood, which was quite a purile object for a grown woman to carry about, it may be that any innoucuous looking objects she possessed could be more than what they appeared. He picked up the discarded instrument and put it to his lips. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the tune she had hummed. He pursed his lips and blew.

The room filled with melody, but only a sense of peace was the result, and nothing more magical than that. Eric put it down, and the King watched with bemusement. "I didn't know you were so talented." he said.

Eric's lips twitched again. "Its amazing the things you can do when you're bored." was all he said. Then he put all the scattered things back into the bag and rose from the couch. It was time to get ready.

"Won't you have dinner with us?" the King asked.

Eric glanced at him sideways, and replied: "Certainly, your Highness."

At dinner, they again discussed the woman. With the Queen and Prince present, it turned into a lively conversation. Eric had to diplomatically step around some direct questions the young man put to him, but he finally asked, "Didn't you want to just leave her at the lake? I mean, once you had the seal?" he asked, when he heard the story of how he had tracked her. Eric's skills as a tracker had always impressed him. Eric turned his colorless eyes to the Prince, quelling any further questions. Intimidated, the Prince snapped his mouth closed.

The Queen hurriedly filled the gap with some innocuous remark, and Eric suddenly remembered how compliantly the woman had turned toward the tree, and the shiny scar tissue that had greeted his eyes...had she, at that moment, wanted him to see this? Were those scars on her back one of the weapons she used against men such as himself? He abruptly pushed away from his meal and excused himself. He made an excuse that he had to prepare for the mission, and made his exit. In order for her to have those scars...it didn't matter. She had to have endured the ire of some cruel person. It probably took a couple of weeks to recover from wounds like that.

He accomplished the mission to Zora's Domain. They had heard about the Gerudo thief, and had a great deal of sympathy for him. They invited him to the testing grounds. One after another, the Zorans dove off the top of a high waterfall into the pool below. Eric stripped off his shirt and boots and made a perfect dive into the clear waters below. He collected as many rupees as was indicated within the time allotted, and easily won a coveted silver scale. The Zorans applauded his accomplishment, and celebrated with a great deal of hooflera. He knew even a child could do what he had done. It would have been a little undignified for the King to have done it, but for an emmisary of the King...it was perfectly acceptable.

After he returned from his mission, the King sent him to the Gerudo Hideout. This would be more difficult. The mission was meant to patch differences between the two kingdoms, but while on official business, his hidden agenda was to find out all he could regarding the mysterious Hylian woman that dwelt amoung them and caused so much grief. His heart rose within him at the possibility of meeting her again. She would have retreated to the Hideout for sure. He asked the King if he should place her under arrest should he see her there. After some thought, the King shook his head. "She took the Sacred Sword, but she did not steal it. Arresting her while she is under the protection of the Gerudo would only make matters worse. Leave her be while she is there. However, if you see her outside her own domain, you should bring her in. I would like to question her some more."

Armed with these instructions, he made his way to the Hideout. There was some trepidation at the gate, but they eventually let him in. The Gerudo King was waiting for him.

The King, attired entirely in black, sat like an old toad upon his throne. He was ancient. Probably in his seventies chronologically, yet he seemed older. Eric went through the formalities, and mentioned that one of the Gerudos had been causing quite a stir in Hyrule. The King shrugged. "The women, they do what they want." his voice was raspy. He sounded irritated that the Hylian emmisary had the bad manners to bring up a touchy subject. He dismissed it with a truncated wave of his hand. The rest of the meeting was stiff and formal. Due to his advanced age, however, the meeting was short. He soon retired, and invited Eric and his contingent to enjoy the Gerudo hospitality. Eric's contingent was well taken care of by many attractive attendants; and while he also was assigned his share of attendants, he brushed most of them off at the door to his room. However, one bright-eyed woman that seemed to have a bit more knowledge than the others, he invited in.

She was young, and seemed intimidated by him. He tried to set her at ease, but she jumped whenever he came close by. Although the day was bright outside, within the adobe walls of the Hideout, it was dim enough for him to take off his spectacles. The lack of color in his eyes unnerved her. "You're tall for a Hylian." she managed to say conversationally, but then bit her lip, realizing that it was too personal a comment.

He leaned against the countertop and folded his arms over his chest and regarded her cooly. "I'm not Hylian." he said. "My people are from the Village of Kakariko." He asked her name, keeping a good distance between them. He had noticed how jumpy she was. He turned to the pitcher that sat on the counter. He poured two glasses of water and offered her one. She shook her head and in a soft, shy voice, told him her name.

"Well, Shara," he began. "I don't suppose you meet too many Hylians here in the Hideout."

"Oh, we have two Hylians that live here." she contradicted.

His heart beat a little faster. "Is that so?" he casually prompted, and took a long drink of water. "Perhaps I could meet them."

"Oh!" she said, and blushed. "One doesn't speak." she glibly informed him, then amended: "Much. But, if you don't mind waiting, I"ll go ask. Perhaps she is well enough to take visitors."

Before Eric could dissuade her, she had slipped out of his room. A Hylian that didn't speak much would be of no use to him. One that was not well enough to take visitors was even worse. He had no wish to impose on such people. Not with the questions he wanted to ask. It was the other that he was interested in. He armed himself. When Shara returned, she was surprised to see him fully armed, and she hesitated, but then continued on, leading him to a small room deep within the Hideout. She knocked on the door and then entered.

"Elena." she said softly. "This is the visitor who wished to see you."

In the dim light, she turned her face toward him, and he gazed upon what he realized was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his entire life. An air of tragedy surrounded her like a wondrous luminousity. She was one who could speak only with her eyes, and her eyes spoke volumes. With a graceful gesture, she indicated that he sit. When Shara turned to leave, he stopped her and asked her to stay. The three of them sat at the table. He took the small pack out and put it on the table, dumping the contents and spread them. He watched her reaction intently.

She froze the instant she saw it. She reached her hand to the ocarina, and hesitantly touched it. Her eyes began filling with tears. She looked at him beseechingly, and he felt a sudden, deep shame, as if he had done something crass infront of someone important. "Is it?..." she whispered so quietly, that he wasn't sure he had heard her. "Is it Eleana?" Tears started coursing down her face. Eric was shocked by this reaction.

"I don't know who Eleana is." he said in his coldest voice. "This pack was confiscated from a prisoner at the castle. She had stolen the royal seal from me, and then the Sacred Sword from the King. If that is her name, then yes, this is hers. I'm sure you must have heard about it. It happened a couple of weeks ago."

The woman shook her head. "Eleana... Eleana is my daughter."

The name fell like rain onto his thirsty ears.

He could tell that she was having difficulty speaking. She gave Shara a beseeching look.

Shara looked from one to the other. Then she addressed the tall albino. "I don't think you should be talking like that to her. She was cast away by her people and left for dead in the desert. She was very young at the time and expecting a child. I don't think that you should say any more! You don't know anything!" During her impassioned speech, she had risen from her chair and placed herself behind Elena. "We haven't seen Eleana for months! She was supposed to return back here two weeks ago."

"Ah, the mouse roars!" he said. He stood up and turned his back to the two women. He didn't want them seeing his face, since he wasn't sure he could keep it under control. It felt like his heart was being ripped to shreds within his chest. Outwardly, he had to be the coldest bastard in the entire world. He withdrew his sword, and with it, found the iciest resolve. In its mirrored surface, he could see the women still at the table. He turned toward them. They both drew in a breath, which, on some animal level, he found very interesting. With the tip of the blade, he picked up the bunny hood from amoung the objects on the table. "I'll be taking this with me. If she ever comes here, I don't want this falling into her hands again. If she wants it back, she'll have to come and find me. Tell her that if she won't come to me, I will catch up to her, and when I do, she will pay the price for what she has done."

Elena put her hand on the one Shara had rested on her shoulder. Her eyes were large and full of pain. Her lower lip twitched, but she lifted her chin in defiance toward the Hylian emmisary. Shara practically shouted: "You don't have to live the life we do! If you did, you'd be helping her, not chasing her! She's got more class in her little finger than you'll ever have, you cold bastard!"

Eric only smiled. "Nevertheless." he continued in the same tone, "If I see this Eleana outside of this Hideout, I will place her under arrest, and she will suffer the severest penalty for her crimes." He pocketed the bunny hood and sheathed his sword. He executed a courtly bow and left the room. He made his way back to his own quarters and began writing out his official daily report. None of it contained any mention of the Hylians in the Hideout. After he had finished, he lay down on the narrow cot they had provided. Using his toes, he loosened the boots off of his feet and shook them off. He closed his eyes and let the impact of the womens' situation sink in. He had found out in one day what they had wanted to know about the puzzling situation of a Hylian amoung the Gerudo.

He envisioned Elena's face, its gentle expression, her sad eyes. What had happened to her? What had been so bad that her familiy had abandoned her in the harshest environment? They had wanted her dead. What had that gentle woman done to deserve such a fate? She couldn't be a day over 35. She must have borne her daughter at a very young age. Eleana...

Eleana...so that's what her name was. A vision of her standing naked before him at swordpoint settled in his mind. The tips of her breasts had stood out in the cool breeze, the indent of her waist, the flare of her hips, the smooth texture of her skin, the triangle of hair between her legs, the long shapely legs poised to run at any moment, her arms loose at her sides and tears streaking her face. Was it classy or sassy? Was she a victim, or was she calculating what sort of coup she could count? Or was she simply taking advantage of the moment? Perhaps that was all it was...Maybe she was just bored, and wanted to alleviate her boredom. He remembered bringing her lips to his...she had tasted salty.

He groaned and turned onto his stomach. He had to stop thinking things like that. He crumpled the sheets while he clenched his fingers into fists. He closed his eyes and began to dream of her...He could feel her smooth skin beneath his palms, but she kept disappearing, turning into a blue light, eluding his embrace.

He handed his report in to the King when he returned to Hyrule. They spoke at some length regarding the unwritten report. He told the King about Elena and how she had ended up with the Gerudos, and his impression of her. He also said that the thief's name was Eleana, who was Elena's daughter, and that she hadn't been home for months. He hadn't thought that they had been lying, although he had notice while on site, a secret training ground that he had been forbidden to enter. They had let him try out the target practice, however, which, of course, he had aced.

The King digested all this information, then bade Eric to go home for a well-deserved break. He happily did so. He hadn't been to the foot of Death Mountain for a long time. Ages, it seemed. He was packed up in a flash, and saddling his horse in no time. He galloped all the way there, and made it before nightfall. Just as the sun was setting, he entered the gates of the village. He happily greeted the guard stationed there. The guard nodded in reply.

Eric made his way to his house and paused at the door. He was about to open it, when he heard voices from within. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he thought he recognized one of them... He thrust open the door, a grim expression settling on his features, and he beheld two women sitting at the table. They both turned their faces toward him. "You!" he exclaimed. He could feel a cold anger rising up in him. The audacity of the woman to insinuate herself into his own home! How had she found out where he lived? Then a thought crossed his mind, which made him feel quite smug, and he could help but say it aloud. "I've just been back from visiting your mother." he said with meaning.

Eleana's face showed no hint that he had said anything of consequence. "And I've been having quite a nice chat with your wife." she countered.


	9. Excited

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

Eric completes the Zoran mission and begins one to the Gerudo. He discovers that Elena is Eleana's mother, and that Eleana hasn't been back to the Gerudo Hideout for a long time. He returns the ocarina, but keeps the bunnyhood. He goes home and finds Eleana waiting for him.

**Chapter 9: Excited**

The other woman sitting at the table had upon her face, a bemused expression. "Greetings, husband." she said faintly, but he could hear the amusement in her undertone. Her long dark hair was gathered behind her head. Wisps of stray hairs that had escaped her coif were floating around her face. She tilted her tea-cup to her lips, draining the amber liquid from it. She smacked her lips loudly and let out a drawn out, unnessessary "Ah!" and rubbed her distended tummy. "Oooh," she exclaimed, "It's kicking!." She was probably 5 or 6 months along.

He watched her, his face expressionless. His eyes went from one woman to the other. He dropped his bag. A small cloud of dust accompanied the great "thunk" the bag made when it landed. He drew his hunting knife from its sheath. The dark-haired woman stood up and sauntered past him, kissed him chastely upon his cheek. She said, "I shall gather the laundry off of the line now." She let her hand stroke his face lingeringly. He ignored her and kept his eyes on Eleana.

Eleana glanced at the knife held loosely in his hand. She stayed seated until the door closed behind the other woman, then she slowly stood up.

He advanced toward her, his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing in my home?" He prepared for any sudden move on her part. Before she could draw a breath in to answer, he asked another question: "How did you find this place?" Again, she attempted to answer, but he ordered her to sit. "I am placing you under arrest for thievery, treason, resisting arrest, and attempted regicide."

If any of the accusations found its mark, her face did not show it. She carefully sat down, and became very still as the point of his knife rested lightly on her shoulder. As he walked behind her, he let the cold steel press down into the pale skin above her shoulder blade. He drew it slowly across the back of her neck as he moved, but did not use enough pressure to actually break her skin. "Speak!" he ordered. She nearly jumped.

She said nothing. She did not even press her lips together in stubborness, but kept her lips parted. He could see the vein in her neck pulsing strongly. She liked this.

"Put your hands on the table." he said, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Where is my ocarina?" she wanted to know, as she carefully obeyed him.

"I'm asking the questions!" he fired back. Inwardly, he was surprised that she had done all this for a mere musical instrument. He took the knife's edge away from her skin and swiveled her chair around so that she faced him. His lips were mere inches from hers. He expected her next move, and was ready for it. He neatly side-stepped a swift kick to the groin and grabbed her leg as it went past. With a quick twist, she was off the chair and lying face down, prone, on the floor beside the table. He quickly put his knee in the small of her back. "If you won't answer my questions, Gerudo, then you will answer the King's and it won't be in a nice homely setting such as this, oh, no. Your bed will be the rack and you'll be pulled end from end until you become a cripple for the rest of your life. Is it worth the trouble?" He said this last bit, leaning into her spine, placing his lips near her ear.

She let out a small gasp of pain. How had he done this? She had never been bested by anyone before. She was used to having the upper hand. His knee was on her back quicker than she had thought possible. She felt like an insect in a display case. There was no getting out from under him, unless he wanted her to. She debated on whether or not to start crying. Tears worked on some men, but she had a feeling they would not work on him. She felt her back crack and let out a small noise from the bottom of her throat.

Why did she fight so much? he wondered, hating the position he was in. Under the King's command, should he find her outside the Gerudo jurisdiction, he was to bring her in for questioning. He saw his holiday going down the tubes, and foresaw another tense ride back to Hyrule town with her trussed up on a pack horse. Irritated, he drew her arms down so that her hands were behind her back. He grabbed a cord from his pocket and securely tied her wrists together. "These are the same knots." he warned. "If you struggle, they will become tighter."

He then tied her ankles together, and hauled her off of the floor. He hopped her to the chair she had been in and sat her down firmly. With a third cord, he tied her securely to the chair. He sheathed the hunting knife and stepped away from her, observing her flushed features. Damn, he did not want to go back to the castle so soon. He debated whether he could at least spend one night in Kakariko Village. He could tie her up again, but what if she hummed that strange tune? She would escape. He felt his resolve return. There could be no trusting her until she was back in the dungeon. He let out a deep sigh.

The pregnant woman returned, one arm balancing a full wicker basket on her hip, the other closing the door. She stepped toward him and kissed him on his cheek again. She murmured something into his ear and his gaze locked with Eleana's . She lowered her eyes after a moment, unable to look him in the eye, her cheeks turning a dull red. She glanced up again when she heard his low tones. His attention was no longer on Eleana, but on the woman. He murmured into her ear and took the basket from her. He closed his eyes and kissed her smiling lips, his other hand warm on her distended abdomen. When the kiss broke, the woman glanced at Eleana, her eyes troubled when she noticed the knots Eric had placed on her.

Eric put the laundry basket on the table infront of Eleana, and led the woman up onto the loft, and Eleana listened as he began making love to her. She could hear them murmuring to one another, and her heart began to race when she realized what was going on. She chewed on her lip and bowed her head in mortification. _Couldn't they wait until nighttime? Couldn't they wait until.._ She could hear the sheets of the bed being drawn back. She heard the woman laugh softly and say his name. She imagined him disrobing her bit by bit, his lips grazing on the skin of her breasts. She thought that maybe he knelt before her and put his hot mouth on the parts of her that came into view. She felt her ears pull back to catch every nuance of sound they made. The hairs on her head rose up, and she could feel a warmth rising within as she continued listening to their movements, their inaudible whispers, the sound of her dress crumpling to the floor, the creaking of the bed as they reclined upon it. She could hear the soft sound of their lips meeting, their breath exhaling in great sighs they were trying to suppress.

She imagined the woman's eyes dark with passion as Eric's hands gripped her more closely to him.. She was probably sliding her hands beneath his shirt, for Eleana heard the material of the garment "swoosh" softly to the ground. She felt her own seat become warmer and tighter, She suppressed a sigh, her body suddenly aching for someone's touch. She closed her eyes, imagining them up in the loft, baring themselves to one another, holding each other tightly, straining against each others' bodies, their bodies sheened with sweat. She heard the woman clearly whisper: "Oh, Eric!" accompanied by a sigh of pleasure. His voice asked of her some tender question. She imagined he had at that moment, joined his body to hers, entering, thrusting inward, sliding back and forth. She held her breath, her whole body catching on fire at the thought of his movement, his pure white skin next to her golden, his abdomen, his hips, all straining toward her, perhaps his teeth on her shoulder, his breath coming faster as he continued moving his body against hers, waiting for her to cry out from all the heat, all the movement, all the pent up desire.

Eleana dared not move, for the knots would become tighter. She had never been subjected to being audience to two people making love to one another. She had always been a participant. She hadn't realized what sweet torture she experienced because of it. She couldn't even see what they were doing, but her ears picked up every sound they made, and her vivid imagination filled in the rest. She felt fully aroused, ready for someone to peirce her with as much desire and intent as Eric had for his wife, yet the frustration of being unable to, caused a horrible torturous unfulfilling yawning cavity to open up in her. She felt her skin glowing as if he touched it. She felt her breasts swelling as if his mouth worshipped there. She felt her blood rushing against her throat, she felt an agony of want arrow downward, and a well of wetness stain her pants.

Eric's wife cried out again and again. She must have gripped him tightly as she came, muffling her mouth against his shoulder. Eleana's eyes widened, her heart pounded. She listened for his ragged breath, his cry of release, and for a while, she did not hear him, only her voice, her heavy breathing, her voice quietly and intently calling his name. Eleana felt the edge of her ears become hot. She didn't know what to do with herself. She struggled to regain control over her body, becoming angry at herself then at Eric and his wife when she was unable to. She dared not move or even make one sound. She did not want to draw their attention to her. _What could he have been thinking?_ she wondered. Had he planned to do this infront of her inorder to evoke this burning reaction? She could well believe it of him. He definately had a cruel streak that she had not encountered before.

She forced herself to become still, tears of self pity rising to her eyes, constricting her throat. She could smell the odour of her own arousal rising up all around her. The musk from their love-making suddenly wafted downward and mingled with hers. It was unbearable, like the smell of blood in the heat of battle. She bit her lip to stop from moaning with want. Then she became very still. It hadn't ended. She heard a soft, repetative sound that she knew to be the sound of his thrusts within her body. She had become so wet from her orgasm that his movements were causing a suction noise. Eleana almost cried out in frustration, not believing her ears. If only she could shut out the sound, this awful, sweet torturous sound. _Oh, nayru!_ she thought _He's going so fast!_

She needed someone, something, NOW! She didin't know what to do. When he had been about to whip her, in anticipation, she had been able to send her mind elsewhere, somewhere far. When his knots had held her painfully captive at the ranch, she had cast her mind back to her childhood, when her mother had played that lullaby...What was she to do for this? All her senses were rivetted to the here and now. She couldn't tear away if she had the strength of Hercules. She could feel a hot wave of ecstasy when his inarticulate moan fell against her ears. Was he bothering to be quiet? she wondered. She could feel a hot flush travel upwards from her nether regions, over her shoulders, along her neck, up past her eyeballs, through the top of her head...there was no controlling it. If she had to stand up at that moment, she would have not had the strength to remain standing. Her breath was rapid, her mouth open. Every extremity was tingling. She was ashamed her body reacted in such a wanton manner.

She desperately tried to regain control of herself...if they were done doing what they had to do, one or the other of them would soon be coming down the stairs. She didn't want them seeing the raw desire in her eyes, or anywhere else for that matter. There was nothing she could do about the smell though, which was a pity. He would know by that. _Nayru! _the chair would be permeated with her scent.

Neither one of them came down immediately, however, so she had time to regain her composure. She didn't know how she would be able to look either of them in the eye, though. The light in the kitchen was fading, and they remained upstairs. Weren't they getting hungry? she wondered. She thought about how she had stood infront of him at the lake. He had wanted her then, she had seen his body's reaction clearly. She hadn't known, realised or asked if he was married, or even committed. It had been a shock, but it hadn't surprised her to find out that he was married and soon to be a father. How many men had she bedded that were married with children? She couldn't count them all. She couldn't even remember them all. Nine times out of ten, they remembered her before she remembered them. Their humping, grunting bodies were merely a means to an end. Nothing they ever did had aroused her like this had.

She knew, then and there, that she would never have Eric to hold as inimately as he had held his wife. She hadn't realized that the hope had existed within her until now. She felt it die like yesterday's flower. Never had she wanted anyone as much as she had wanted him. She knew that she would have to forget about him. The sooner, the better.

She began humming her mother's lullaby. The tune fell on her ears in soothing waves. She felt her heart lose its raging passion, she felt the ropes loosen, she smelled the odor of an ancient forest permeate the room, banishing her shameful musk. Her eyebrow went up in surprise when she saw the cords he had put on her laying on the floor.

She glanced upstairs, and saw no movement. Maybe they had fallen asleep. She looked around for something to take, some momento, something that she could look at and never forget this day. Her eye fell on his pack, and she carefully made her way toward it. She silently looked through his stuff, but her ocarina was not amoung his things.

She did, however, find the bunny hood. She pocketed it and slipped out the door. The bunny hood wouldn't really remind her of this day, but she was glad to reclaim it and make use of it. As much as she loved horses, she'd rather race them than ride them.

Outside the house, she donned the hood, took a deep breath, and ran out the village, across the great expanse of plains, and into the gorge that was entrance to the Gerudo Hideout. She wanted to see her mother again. She was long overdue.


	10. Evil

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

Eric completes the Zoran mission and begins one to the Gerudo. He discovers that Elena is Eleana's mother, and that Eleana hasn't been back to the Gerudo Hideout for a long time. He returns the ocarina, but keeps the bunnyhood. He goes home and finds Eleana waiting for him.

Eric captures the elusive Gerudo thief, and charges her with her crimes. He ties her to a chair. While he and his wife are preoccupied, she uses the mysterious melody to loosen her bonds. She escapes, but first, recovers the bunny hood. She makes her way to the Gerudo Hideout.

**Chapter 10: Evil**

Navi stripped the bunny hood off once she entered the Gerudo Hideout. Her heart pounded with exertion. She took a moment to compose herself, then headed into the Hideout, greeting the guards. Her skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, and the blonde hairs that had loosened from her ponytail stuck to her skin in ringlets. She practically glowed. Even the old Gerudo King, sunning himself on the upper decks, noticed her walking through the crowds, her shining head standing out from all the red, her pointy ears jutting upwards from her head. His eyes widened, and his heart beat with forgotten desire. He leaned toward his ever-ready aide and instructed her as to what he wanted done and pointed her out.

The aide nodded brusquely, and hurried away to carry out the King's instructions.

About to enter her home, Eleana noticed the King's aide marching determinedly toward her. Her heart sank. The last time this had happened, she had been taken into the old King's chambers and put through her first sexual experience as part of the rite of passage for any Gerudo thief. It had not been an unexpected experience, and really, it hadn't been unpleasant, it was just that...she sighed. The King was so ..._old._ That had been four years ago. It had been followed by two weeks of torture. One that made her pass out from the pain. All by order of the King.

He seemed interested in her in the same way a ferret was interested in a bug. His eyes glimmered when he spied her, and he would watch her surreptitiously, as if planning something. His watchful eyes made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, which made the situation awkward. After all, he was King. He had allowed her and her mother residence within the natural fortress of the desert. She ought to be grateful. She ought to be thankful. She ought to be...

"Come with me." the aide commanded, standing directly infront of the Hylian woman.

Other citizens of the Hideout averted their eyes, some going so far as to cover their faces with veils, revealing nothing in their expression. They knew what it meant when the King's aide picked you out. That he had picked her again, was long overdue, even though she was strange. Her exotic features were difficult to ignore. He had summoned her mother many times. She had borne him two daughters. They hadn't seemed Hylian in any way, but had hair as red as his had once been, and firey tempers to go with it.

Eleana knew better than to speak to the aide. She wished she had been given the chance to greet her mother, a chance to wash up from the long run. Maybe he wanted it that way...she tried not to remember the last time he had invited her to his chambers. He had plied her with strong desert wine, thick and sweet. She had wanted a drink of water afterwards, for its bitter aftertaste had dried her throat. Nevertheless, the drink had relaxed her sufficiently to be able to endure what her mother and other women had prepared her for. When he had told her to remove her scant clothing, she had done so with as much sensuous finesse as she could muster, remembering that all that she did for him, she did in order to escape from the hot dry desert that had been her prison all her life.

She had drawn the filmy material slowly over her torso, feeling the tips of her breasts respond to its light cool pressure. His hot gaze travelled on her body, as she showed it to him, watching his face as she teased him with her little poses. Inwardly, the fear that she initially trembled from was pushed farther and farther away as the wine's potency hit her veins. She boldly sat on his lap, straddling her legs over him, pushing her hips against his. She had put her soft, warm full lips on his and kissed him as passionately as she imagined her first love ought to be kissed. In her mind's eye, she envisioned him as strong, vigourous, full of life. She closed her eyes to all his imperfections, and was surprised by the sensual feel of his lips moving against hers, the feel of the warmth radiating from his hands as he placed them around her waist. Beneath her, she felt the stirrings of his member against her untried core.

The shock of the intimacy of the moment had hit her all at once, and she had lost her strength. She lifted her lips from his and looked into his eyes, knowing that he could read the shock she felt. He had chuckled, a dry sound that huffed out of his lungs. "Didn't think I had it in me?" the resonance of his voice, so close by had made her skin shiver. Then he had place his mouth on one of her nipples, and she had arched her back, her body reacting, her mind in a daze.

When he had penetrated her, it had hurt at first, but then turned agonizingly enjoyable. She had been amazed by his consideration, his softly spoken questions...she realized that he had used every bit of ammunition in his sexual artillary against her once he had been aroused...yet...she did not want to see him again. She knew that had she resisted in any way, she would be tied down and taken forcibly, perhaps even expelled from the Hideout. The point of arousing the King was to test her wiles as a thief. If she failed in this, then she wasn't much help to them.

She didn't want to leave her mother behind in this place.

Now she was, for the second time, in the King's chambers. He did not seem much changed from the last time she had seen him. Anyone could tell that except for his nose, he had been a very handsome man in his youth. His hair, although pure white, was still thick. His once mighty thews had become lean and corded. The veins stood out on his hands in relief. He wasn't decrepit by any means, although he suffered from sudden fatigue which made him seem older than he actually was. In a land where 100 years was half-way through life, he was very young. In eighteen years, he would be 100, and he would then father his only male heir.

She hesitated, trying to gauge his mood, but only experiencing the same caution as before. She knew he had some ulterior motive. For the moment, however, it eluded her.

"Come here, child." he said softly, his beady eyes fixed on her.

If she refused? She did not hesitate, but approached and then knelt down before him, arranging her limbs attractively.

Ah, she is still quite the obediant thrall, he thought as he looked down at the picture she presented: the crown of her golden head, the pale eyelashes, the attractive cleavage, the smooth skin of her flat belly, the artistic arrangement of her legs, even the toes of her feet were pointed to continue the flow of line. He raised his eyebrow, and thought how well trained she was. By far more deadly and dangerous than she ever had been 4 years ago. Her demure and meek demeanor did not fool him, it made him more guarded. He tried to sense the fear he had expected and sensed last time, and barely found it. Her fear was still there, in the tenseness of her shoulders, in the line of her mouth...in the way she avoided looking directly at him. Fear? or was it lack of respect?

He waved the aide out and pointed to the bed. "Assist me." he said simply to Eleana.

She stood up and placed her arms around his waist. He clasped his hands behind her neck and pulled himself up as she lifted him up from the chair onto his feet. She quickly manouvered beside him, holding him up with only one arm, the other grasping the hand he draped over her shoulder. He shuffled painfully, and she guided his steps. The bed seemed quite far away. She wished that she had put him on the wheeled chair before hand. She hadn't realized how much worse his condition had become since she had visited him last.

She showed none of her concern, but got him to the bed, swivelled around, and sat down with him on the edge of it.

He glanced slyly at her. He had put most of his weight on her as they crossed the floor, and had been somewhat surprised at the strength in her small frame. Or determination, perhaps? She did have a somewhat pungent odor about, but it was nothing compared to the sweat of terror he had made her experience in the temple, and he had taken her then, too. Her terror goaded him into a pleasurable state, and the memory of its extended sweetness even now, made his heart pound with emotion. Oh, how he hated himself for his strange perversions. Why did the pain of others bring him so much ecstacy? With her, he had found some normalcy, some kind of sensibility. She had given herself to him so sweetly, and with such devastating trust. Even so, he had wrecked it by later taking her while she had been unconscious. She had never known that he had done this cowardly thing, and no one else had been witness to it.

"What did that white freak want?" he asked.

Her expression became clouded at the mention of Eric, but she only shrugged and said: "A vacation, apparently."

The King raised his eyebrow. "You couldn't bed him?" he sounded incredulous.

She leaned back and kicked her legs alternately. She pouted her lips. "Oh, he wanted me alright. He used his wife right in front of me. He's more twisted than you."

"Ah," said the King, not really liking her tone, but allowing it for now. He examined her closely, her body language, her expression, her voice. He weighed and assessed her and still found her dangerous. "It must have been horrible." he murmured. He opened the front of his trousers and gave her a significant look. At once, her hand stole inside his pants and began vigorously milking him until he was fully aroused. It had always astounded her to feel that hardness grow beneath her palm. The King had a thick one. She knew what he wanted right now, and she lowered her head to place its bulbous head against her wet lips.

But the King stopped her and shook his head. She raised one eyebrow. "I want you little one," he whispered softly. "I want you to be the one."

Her expression didn't change, but her eyes became dark, considering the implications of what he just said. She became very still, and didn't respond at once.

"You don't?" he asked when she hesitated.

She could feel her face become pale. She tried to school her reaction, but failed. He saw it. He saw her revulsion. It had only been for a split second. She sought to disspell what he had seen by standing up and removing her clothing. She settled herself again beside him. He put his hand on her head, his fingers tangling in her hair, then he made a fist and pulled, bringing her face to his. "Do it." he whispered before he brought her lips to his. He lay down on the bed, pulling her down on him.

The old man's grip was strong. Obediantly, she swung her leg over him, poised over his erection. She placed its tip at her opening and slowly eased down, taking in only its head and stopped. "I'm not little anymore." she breathed into his lips, "And what you want will happen eighteen years from now. May I ask why you ask now?"

"Down." he growled.

She lowered herself another inch and again stopped. She felt his hands on her hips. "Do you wish to have an alliance with the Hylians?" she asked, resisting the pressure of his hands, defying him. Her blue eyes bored into his brown ones. This was more than she had ever dared. Questioning the King's motives was like diving into unknown and dangerous waters. Sudden death lurked in the corner of his majesty's chambers.

"Do you wish to play games with me, little one?" he asked, a strange smile lighting his face, his eyes glinting dangerously. _He was laughing at her!_ she realized, a cold feeling settling in her stomach. "You play with me; expect to lose." he warned. "You know what will happen."

She continued lowering her pelvis to his, feeling him deeper inside of her. _Oh god, it didn't matter how old he was, this was absolutely delightful!_ She began working it harder and harder, her eyes closing, her mouth open, his hands warm and strong on her hips, guiding her to their mutual climax.

He watched her as she obeyed him, only closing his eyes when he felt that wonderful pressure building up. He knew that he probably shouldn't even be doing that. Every Gerudo knew her MO: stealing men blind while at the apex of ecstasy. It couldn't be helped, however, and he felt somewhat safe from her with so many aides at his beck and call. There were probably several of them watching at this very moment, making sure that she did nothing untoward. He even gasped the moment he came. She had thrust herself all the way down on him and stayed there, he could feel her clamping down on him rhythmically. He could feel how deep he was inside of her. He finished and waited while a wave of utter relaxation swept over him. When she would remove herself from him, he held her there still for several more moments, reluctant for the pleasant part of their session to end. But he was spent, and finally let her go.

He didn't know exactly, what it was about her that allowed these pleasant forays into normalcy. No other woman ever excited him in this way. He decided that it was age. He was getting sentimental. He inclined his head abruptly toward the tub, where a warm bath awaited her. She passed a grateful glance his way and stepped across the room to bathe.

With another imperious gesture, he beckoned an aide to assist him back into his chair. He watched with greedy eyes as Eleana sank into the tub and began washing. The aide bent her head to the King's, and listened to what he whispered. With a bow, she left him and retrieved an elaborate box from its place in a niche. Kneeling before the decrepit king, she lifted the box to him, her eyes' glance cast downward. She dared not gaze upon the unholy object that the box contained.

Not bothering to relieve the aide, he opened the box while she still held it. The box was about two feet long and six inches equal in depth and width. The lid was slightly rounded, and was banded with reinforced gold. A single oval obsidian, in raised filigree was set on the side where ordinarily, a key hole would be. He passed his hand over this stone and murmured a gutteral phrase. The box opened slowly, revealing a blackness upon blackness.

The King reached in eagerly, his hands trembling, his eyes fixated upon the two black things he slowly lifted from their velvet coffin. He carefully drew them upon his arms: they were utterly black and sinister, smooth, with the feel of butter, made from the leather of some forgotten, mythical beast. They were the black gauntlets that every Gerudo King had inherited from time immemorial. He felt power course up from the gauntlets into his body. He felt the strength of his youth return in one agonizing moment. The pain in his joints disappeared, he could feel his spine crack satisfyingly in many places as he stood from the chair in which he had been unable to leave for so long. He could feel the vigour and blood rush throughout his body. He could feel his musculature swell, tightening his skin, even his eyesight seemed to sharpen, and he turned his gaze to Eleana, meeting her shocked expression with a smile.

Now the real excitement was about to begin...


	11. Expunged

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

Eric completes the Zoran mission and begins one to the Gerudo. He discovers that Elena is Eleana's mother, and that Eleana hasn't been back to the Gerudo Hideout for a long time. He returns the ocarina, but keeps the bunnyhood. He goes home and finds Eleana waiting for him.

Eric captures the elusive Gerudo thief, and charges her with her crimes. He ties her to a chair. While he and his wife are preoccupied, she uses the mysterious melody to loosen her bonds. She escapes, but first, recovers the bunny hood. She makes her way to the Gerudo Hideout.

Eleana returns to the Hideout, but is summoned to the King's chambers before she can bathe or even greet her mother. He wants more than just information from her regarding her lastest meeting with Eric.

**Chapter 11: Expunged**

"There's something about you." he began, as he walked toward her frozen figure. It was as if he had paralyzed her with a deku nut, except her eyes widened as he drew near. He knelt beside her as she crouched in the bath waters, bringing his face closer and closer to hers. She did not resist. She felt his palm slide behind her head, and with gentle pressure, brought her lips to his. The shock of his lips on hers galvanized her into action, trying to pull away from his mesmerizing hold.

"Where is the King?" she demanded, hearing her own voice going up a notch. To her confused mind, this man before her had disguised himself as the King in order to have her in the way he wanted. His voice was different, his entire aspect was changed into something unrecognizable, something infinitely more dangerous, something that she knew she couldn't control. A great wave of fear welled up within as she scrambled out of his reach. Had this unfamiliar man elimiated the King and took his place? "What is your name?" she practically screeched, her eyes roving the room, seeking the old man, seeking a weapon. Damn, she had closed her eyes for mere seconds. How could this have happened?

This reaction was not the one he had expected, but, considering his transformation, he supposed to someone with as devious a mind as himself, this could be a possible scenario. He sat back on his haunches, gazing at her confused expression, seeking a lie in her reaction. He slowly stood up, his eyes glinting with anger and impatience. "Stay where you are." he said quietly, but with such authority and power in his voice that she immediately became still.

Panicking was not good in any situation. When was the last time that this had happened? When was the last time that she had felt such ominous portents of doom? She trembled in an attempt to control her reaction. As he approached her, however, her uneasiness and fear became harder to control.

He side-stepped the bath tub and strode up to her. He slapped her, trying to eradicate the wild look in her eyes, feeling power coursing up into his hands, her body twirling around with the force of his blow. He hadn't meant it to be so hard, but she now was pressed up against the stone wall. She had spread her hands against the stone to keep her head from bashing into it, and he pinned her with his body so that she couldn't move from there. "It's me, you dimwit." he murmured softly into her ear. "I am the King. I've always been the King. Don't be an idiot."

"How?" she gasped, not believing the strength pouring out of him. "How did you..?" she stuttered again, her mind grasping at the situation. Was it his voice? Were these his hands? Was his body not bent by chronic fatigue? How could it be? She sensed a horrible blackness around him, and it made her ill to be so close to it. What was the matter with her? She could feel her fear and panic uncontrollably rise up once again within her like a wave of nausea. She began thrashing, and when he felt her movement against him, he could feel that strange, erotic reaction begin within his own body. "Stop it!" he hissed. "Stay still!" He put his hands on her hips to stop her from moving against him, but his touch had the opposite effect, and she began fighting him, animal sounds hiccupping out of her esophagus as she began struggling.

She was out of control with fear. He had never seen her give in to it before, and the response within himself was something he could no longer fight. He felt his blood boil from her ineffectual movement. He could feel the dark urge come up into his body like a drug. This wasn't something he wanted happening right now. But here she was, like a nymph from the Kokiri Forest, helpless, trapped and sexy all at once, and he like a dark dragon of pure lust and evil. Whatever plans he had for her later down the road faded into insignificance as his reasoning left him altogether. He bent down and put his mouth on her neck, right where the tattoo was, and bit her. Her agonized scream filled the room. He could taste her warm, salty blood on his tongue, and it incensed him. He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her against him until the air was squeezed out of her lungs. "My lord!" she managed to say in a faded, strained voice, the room becoming a sequence of dots. "I will do as you say! I will do as you say! Please let me go! Don't hurt me anymore!"

It seemed as if he heard her, for she felt the pressure around her rib-cage ease, and she drew in a ragged breath. But he only turned her around, as if she were some marionette on a string, and placed his bloody lips on hers. It was a shock to know the blood she tasted was her own. The unresisting stone wall became more painful against her back as he pressed harder against her. His breathing had accelerated. She could feel his erection against her body, and of all the times she had joined herself to men, none had been as unwelcome as this. As soon as his gauntletted hands had touched her, her entire body rebelled against it, and she could find no place in her mind that might somehow garner enjoyment from it. The blackness within him was so real to her that it terrorized her to the point where she thought she might lose her senses. She could hear her own voice from some distance, begging him to stop, but he seemed goaded by her piteous cries for mercy. He forced her legs apart. Using all her strength against him had absolutely no effect. She felt like some kind of doll in his hands.

He pierced her relentlessly, not caring whether she was aroused or not. His movements against her abraded her back on the wall. It felt as if her skin would peel away from the force of his thrusts. She turned her head away from his breath on her face, the crazed dark look in his eyes...he seemed more like a demon than man. His fingers dug into her body, pushing and pulling it onto his engorged member as he so wanted, not caring one whit for her comfort or pleasure, but only the satisfaction of his own needs. She wondered, dimly, if he would squash her body into the stone until she was a bloody blot, a mere stain upon the rough wall. She felt his thrusts accelerate. The breath was knocked in and out of her lungs as he strained harder and with more force against her. Unwillingly, she felt deep within herself a flower of white heat unexpectedly blossom, and she couldn't help but gasp as it rose up within her body, feeling a sudden slickness where they were joined.

Feeling her reaction, he smiled, and pressed even harder against her. By Nayru, this was the best feeling in the world! He could feel thunder in his ears, and he cried out, expelling a jet of his essence into her. He could feel wave after wave pouring into her.

He felt he could no longer stand and wrapping his arms around her to ensure that she stayed joined to him, he knelt down, then lay down, pinning her beneath him this time on the floor beside the bathtub. "I told you.." he gasped. "You shouldn't have done that. You should have stayed still. I couldn't stop myself. Eleana, you shouldn't have panicked. I...I didn't want you to know about this. It's this evil that hides in me." With one hand, he reached to turn her head to face him, but she looked at him with dead eyes. She had gone to that peaceful place within herself. "Damn." he said quietly. She would never come back to him willingly again.

His stupid sadistic desires had wrecked everything. She'd never agree to be the mother of his son. He put his head beside hers and began weeping uncontrollably. It was gone. The wonderful, normal thing he had once cherished. The thing he shared with none other. He was now totally depraved, without succour, twisted and evil. The hot tears were painful and made his eyes ache. He pulled her to him, like a child with his broken toy, bewildered by its lack of function. "Eleana." he said softly. "Don't go away. I need you. Stay here, with me." he pleaded. "Stay here!"

He could still feel himself embedded in her, and he was reluctant to withdraw. He began moving again, slowly, as if in apology for his earlier violence. He felt her legs move in reponse. "Eleana." he whispered brokenly, and kissed her gently, on her lips, his thumb stroking her temple. He kissed her face, her neck, her lips again, his tears dripping onto her face, mixing with the taste of her blood that had stayed on her lips. He gently thrust his tongue into her mouth, and felt a zing rush through his entire being when she responded. He eagerly plundered her mouth, trying to make up for his earlier selfishness, trying to draw a response from her again. He lifted his lips from hers and licked the traces of blood and tears from her face. He gazed into her eyes, seeking evidence that she had come back from that place to be here with him. He groaned aloud seeing no spark of her former self.

He began speaking intently, with passion, his lips beside her ear, "You are my guide, my navigator. You don't know it, but you have brought the Gerudos to life with all that you have done. You are my Navi." he didn't know whether it was the black gauntlets that brought that truth to him, but he let the words come pouring out. "Come back to me, my little Navi. I've watched you from afar, but I was afraid of you. I was afraid that you'd see me...like this...with all this ugliness, and you'd fly away and never return. I wanted you so much, but I never called upon you. I couldn't believe that first time with you, you barely showed any fear, you kissed this old man as if...as if I belonged to you. I want that back. I want you here with me. I am so sorry you had to feel this...this evil that is my other self, the one everyone sees. They all see me as this monster, but you were never afraid. You gave yourself to me entirely, trusting me so much, and I put you through more torture than any of the others, yet you never broke. I want you to be here with me. I want you to be the one to carry my son into the next century. I want you to be his mother, because of your fearlessness. I never wanted you to see what I really am. Oh, Navi. Don't leave. Stay with me." He could barely explain the huge emotion that welled up within him at the thought that she might not be hearing this.

"My lord?" she asked faintly, turning her eyes to him, strangely compelled by his words.

He reluctantly withdrew from her and picked her up off of the cold hard floor. He held her closely and carried her gently to the bed, laying her carefully upon it. He rolled her body over, so that he might see the damage he had done, and winced at the sight of her back. The rough stone had abraded the skin in places, and the rest was livid. A trickle of drying blood fell from where he had bitten her. Yet, as forceful as he had been with her, he remembered how she had finally responded. "Say you will." he said in a low voice.

"I..." she began, feeling tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "I will do as you wish, my lord."

Her submissive reply made him want to worship her, and he ran his hands over the back of her thighs. He could see the place where he had been, glistening with their mutual lust. He realized that he was still hard, and could awaken her desire again, but he dared not touch her back. He lay down beside her, so that they were face to face. He began kissing her, running his hands over her body, as if calming a high-strung horse. He mumured things to her that he didn't imagine he would ever say to any other woman. He let his lips travel from her mouth, along the edge of her chin, down her neck, until he grazed the top of her pale breasts. He forced his hands into gentleness, yet they demanded a response from her, and his touch became desperate in its need to arouse her. He wanted to be encased by her again, to feel that sweet pressure, that strong pull, that heat, that slickness. He wanted all that again, but he wanted her to have that too. The fear that he had hurt her too badly lurked in his soul. He knew that he shouldn't do anything like this so soon after the brutal pounding he had put her through. He knew he should leave well enough alone.

The part of him that loved pain and torture warred with the part of him that held this woman in the greatest consideration. He thought he would burst with the conflict, and he let out a moan. What he had done to her should never have happened. He reluctantly calmed himself down and just held her for a while, doing nothing more.

"My lord." her voice was quiet, but he was startled that she had spoken. "Allow me to go home. After a while, I will rejoin you and you may do as you please."

His eyebrows rose. Did she think that he would actually let her out of his sight after what he had done to her? He formulated a reply, but before he could put it into words, she looked directly at him, bringing her hand up around his neck, and putting her forehead against his. She closed her eyes and spoke: "I promise I will not leave you. I will return. You must trust me, as I have trusted you."

"I broke that trust." he said almost inaudibly, emotion overcoming his ability to speak.

"I will come back. I need to go home for only a moment. When I return, I promise, you may have me all you want." she pleaded softly, unconsiously pressing harder behind his neck

He thought about the condition she was in, the condition that he had put her in, and found that he couldn't agree to what she requested, and shook his head. "Is there something there that you need? Let me send one of my aides, they will retrieve it for you." he finally conceded.

She considered what he said, but then slowly shook her head. She did not want her ocarina anywhere near the black gauntlets. There was no telling what would happen. She couldn't explain the deadness she now felt inside. She had placed herself far away when the pain had begun, only distantly aware of her body and what he was doing to it. But when he had called her by that name, she couldn't explain how compelling the rest of his words were to her afterwards. It was as if he had found a key to control her by magical means. The edges of her being felt dull, inert, as if her inner self had been expunged, and replaced with something that responded to his evil. Something that wanted to revell in mischieviousness. When he called her "Navi", she wanted to do whatever he did.

Maybe it was best this way. Leave that ocarina with her sentimental mother, and never let it come near the King. She knew, distantly, that the ocarina would heal this brokeness, even when it was brought on by whatever force the black gauntlets had. But the need to have the ocarina was fading. It was as if her former self, in her death throes, instinctively called out for the thing that would help her, but her former self was dead now, and she felt no need for the ocarina at all. Her back did ache a great deal, but time also healed such things.

She shifted her body carefully and lay down on her front. She closed her eyes, letting exhaustion overcome her. She felt the King cover her body lightly with some blankets, but that was all she remembered until morning.

He placed the blankets carefully around her and sat beside her, staring at her thoughtfully, his eyes dark. She could never be allowed to leave the Hideout again. He knew what she had done out there. The Hylians thirsted for her blood. Because she had stolen the royal seal from that careless Kakarikan, her life was in jeapordy. If the other rumour was true, that she had also wielded the sacred sword, the Hylian King would surely have no clemency regarding Eleana. If she ever fell into their hands, they would be forced, by their own laws, to execute her.

At least here, in the Hideout, she'd be safe. There was no way, he silently resolved, that he would ever let her out of his sight again. If it meant keeping the black gauntlets on for the rest of his life, then so be it. He knew the danger in this, yet he steadfastly vowed to use any means to save her from death. The black gauntlets gave him his strength back, but the price was a shorter life span, and the evil that ate at his soul. If he kept the items on indefinately, he would surely become the monster beyond all nightmares. A monster that could plunge the entire kingdom into chaos.

It was a price he was willing to pay, and as he gazed upon her sleeping form, he found himself filled with compassion for her. There was no other way out. It was up to him. And they would all hate him. He carressed the planes of her face, feeling its soft warm smooth texture. She would do as he said, he was sure of it. He let out a deep sigh and lay down beside her. He lay awake for a long time, then he, too slept.


	12. Engagement

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

Eric completes the Zoran mission and begins one to the Gerudo. He discovers that Elena is Eleana's mother, and that Eleana hasn't been back to the Gerudo Hideout for a long time. He returns the ocarina, but keeps the bunnyhood. He goes home and finds Eleana waiting for him.

Eric captures the elusive Gerudo thief, and charges her with her crimes. He ties her to a chair. While he and his wife are preoccupied, she uses the mysterious melody to loosen her bonds. She escapes, but first, recovers the bunny hood. She makes her way to the Gerudo Hideout.

Eleana returns to the Hideout, but is summoned to the King's chambers before she can bathe or even greet her mother. He wants more than just information from her regarding her lastest meeting with Eric.

The King transforms, using the black gauntlets, and discovers, inadvertently, that she is truly Navi. The black gauntlets, however, cause so much fear in her, that she triggers his evil reaction. He bends her body and will to his, and vows that she will never again leave the hideout.

**Chapter 12: Engagement**

The rumor spread like wildfire. The most notorious Gerudo thief was marrying the Gerudo King. The unprecedented event took the Hylians by storm, and they considered it an affront to their efforts to have the Hylian woman remanded into their custody to face charges of high treason. At one point, the bridge into the Hideout had to be closed indefinitely, since spies and assassins kept trying to get in. Relations between the two kingdoms quickly fell apart, and rumors of some monstrous power at the beck and call of the Gerudo King quickly followed on the heels of the first rumor.

Any Hylian caught within the Gerudo Hideout was severely dealt with, their bodies tossed into the Haunted Wasteland, or thrown into the river that emptied into Lake Hylia. The wedding took place six months after the official announcement, with heavy security, and token representatives from Hyrule. In his official capacity, Eric attended, but was never allowed close to the royal couple inspite of his stature. Attired in formal dress, his strong presence was difficult to ignore. He looked like a king in his own right, coupled with his dangerous aura, the Gerudo guards had difficulty keeping him from approaching the newly wed couple.

He tried catching Eleana's eye, but she refused to meet his questioning glances. He noticed her pale skin over the brilliant white dress that clasped her form like shimmering froth. Her lips smiled at her guests, but her eyes...her eyes were hard like chips of stone, flat and emotionless. He remembered the warmth and passion he had seen there before. Now she seemed like someone else, some person that he had never before approached. He tried envisioning her as he had seen her at the lake, but the memory eluded him. It had been someone else. He couldn't tell what emotion it was he felt when he saw her this way. Shock?

He was a man not easily shocked. He clenched his fist and ground his teeth. He stared at the Gerudo King with blazing eyes. He noted the vigor of the formerly decrepit King, and on more than one occasion, met his cold assessing stare with one as cold from across the banquet room. Considering the ominous atmosphere between the two kingdoms, he did not insist upon delivering the wedding gift personally, leaving it on a nearby table. He felt the surviellance of the Gerudo upon him constantly. He could find no chink in their vigillance. Not for one moment was he allowed to wander at will, and when the three day ceremony came to a conclusion, they escorted him and his retinue to the bridge and closed the gate behind him.

Before leaving, he had managed one meeting with Eleana's mother, who had not remembered him favorably, but had again recieved him graciously. His sharp eyes noted the dark circles under her eyes. They had exchanged pleasantries, and shared a cup of tea, and when she noticed Eric's glance falling upon the ocarina, she felt that he deserved some kind of explanation, but all she said was, "She no longer plays it." She suddenly wished to divulge all her worries to the taciturn man, but she was too aware of the King's spies stationed outside the doors and windows. She gracefully arose from her chair and swayed toward the place of honor where the ocarina rested.

She lifted the musical instrument and held it reverently, gazing sadly down at it. She felt Eric's looming presence behind her, and was surprised to feel sympathetic hands warmly on each shoulder. She allowed him to turn her, and a well of unbridled emotions struggled to escape when his arms gently encircled her with complete understanding. For one moment, she leaned her head against his hard chest and closed her eyes. He could feel her trembling in his embrace, and wished to tell her not to worry, but he said nothing, only let her go after a moment.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she struggled to speak. "P-please take it. I...I w-would like the Kking of Hyrule to have it. I...I no longer w-want or n-need it." She couldn't express to him the fear she had should the Gerudo King touch the musical instrument. More than she wanted the ocarina for herself, she needed to know that the sacred object would be out of harm's way. She couldn't explain to Eric the reverence she had for it. But he saw how she handled it, saw how she looked at it. She didn't need to say it.

He took the ocarina from her trembling hands and put it safely away in his diplomatic pouch. "I will guard it with my life." he said simply, and took his leave, giving her a small glance of concern. He wondered if he would ever see her again. "Oh, by the way," he turned at the door. "My wife delivered twins. A boy and a girl."

She smiled in response to his happy news.

"They are only two months old, but I think they already know how to manipulate us." he continued. "They are a couple of imps."

"Did you name them?" she asked in a husky tone.

"Impo and Impa." he smiled.

She smiled at the odd names he had chosen. "Who do they take after?" she managed to ask.

"They are both like me." he smiled proudly.

"I am happy for you." she said, her expression veiled and her voice barely above a whisper.

He had to leave on that innocuous note. He couldn't bear that she looked so sad. Her eyes told him that she trusted him with this mysterious thing, and she had conveyed to him with but a few gestures how important this thing was. He knew there was something about the ocarina. He wished that he had time to ask her about where it was from and who had made it. He sensed that if he not ask now, the history of it would be lost forever. Yet should he ask, the news of this item's importance would reach the Gerudo King's ears, and he didn't want that to happen.

At the bridge, as they closed the gates behind him, he adjusted his dark glasses on his nose, and touched the diplomatic pouch wherein the ocarina lay. He held his horse at the gate for a moment longer than he should have, an errant breeze lifting his pure white hair to the side. Someone began playing a guitar, its intense, energetic melody lifting his spirits. He turned his horse's head, and kicked its sides, flicking the reins against its neck. The horse surged forward, leaving the gates of the Gerudo Hideout far behind.

When he made his report to the King of Hyrule, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Ocarina would one day be very important. He handed the king the precious item, and the King held it for a moment before making a grimace. Lifting his gaze to Eric, he said: "Why me? You can play this better than I ever could. Why didn't she just give it to you?"

"I don't think she trusts me." he speculated. "Or perhaps she thinks that the ocarina is so important that only the kind of security that a King has is enough to protect it from...from..."

"Exactly!" the King exclaimed, putting the musical instrument down on the low table between the two men. "Why does this need that much security? Does Elena strike you as...rather unbalanced?"

Eric turned that colorless stare onto the King, and he very nearly cringed.

"Considering the power of the Gerudo King, I think that her concerns are valid." Eric said quietly. "I've seen Eleana use a mere melody in ways I never thought possible. It may be that times are coming when a great hero is going to be needed. The way she wielded the sacred sword, the items in her possession, these are things that we cannot ignore. Now that relations between our two countries are so strained, I don't think that we will ever get to the bottom of it all. We must prepare ourselves for the unexpected."

The King and Eric talked for a long while yet afterwards, and the importance of the ocarina faded by the end of the evening. The King had the object put into safe-keeping, and had his secratary make a note of it in the journal of inventory. Thereafter, it faded from memory, sitting in the King's warehouse for the next thirty-seven years.

Relations between Gerudo and Hyrule remained strained for a long while, but after seven years had passed, the statute of limitations ended for Eleana. She continued, however, by order of her king, to stay within the Gerudo Hideout. If she ever ventured out, no one ever found out about it. Nothing important ever went missing again from rich mens' treasures. Men began to reminisce about her notoriety: the mysterious Gerudo/Hylian woman who could steal men blind while fucking their brains out. Her beauty and audacity became campfire stories, rife with ribald laughter. If the King of the Gerudos ever heard how the Hylian commoners spoke of his queen, he never let on. No one would ever dare repeat such stories in his presence.

After eighteen years of marriage, the queen gave birth to a son, who was named Ganondorf. "He looks like me." the King happily looked over at his tired wife, his son's tiny fingers gripped around one finger. The infant began to cry, already feeling the strange power of the black gauntlets.

Eleana smiled back. "I am glad to fulfill my obligation to you and the Gerudos, who have cared for me and my mother all this time."

His eyes became troubled. He quietly said: "Your obligation to me will soon end. I don't think that..." but he left the sentence unfinished. He felt her hand reach for his.

"..there is much time left for you?" she tentatively finished for him.

They had been together a long time. Nothing of that horrible night was ever repeated, but with the gauntlets constantly on, draining his waning strength, he had difficulty keeping the monster within at bay. He could not even remove them if he wanted. They had melded to his arms, and his skin was turning green and scaly. "You may have to cage me." he continued, dropping his finger from beneath his son's hand. The little one ceased his caterwauling at once. He longed to take him into his arms, but he feared the reprecussions. "I wonder what his future will be..." he sadly murmured.

Eleana shrugged and pulled the hiccupping infant to her breast. His little hand rested on her soft smooth skin by his mouth as he tried latching on to her nipple. They both laughed at his eagerness, and startled him. "How do they know what to do?" she wondered.

"Hunger, I expect." he smilingly answered.

"Ai!" she exclaimed. "I think he bit me!" she was amazed by how strongly he suckled. She felt a response within her body that surprised her with its intensity, and she felt her breasts filling up for him.

"You're beautiful, Eleana." he said as he bent to place his lips on hers.

She turned her head to accept his bestowal, and felt his hand on her neck as he kissed her. She sensed nothing evil anymore. She was so used to the way things were. Her senses were dulled to that black presence. It no longer made her flinch. But she didn't think that a cage could hold the evil he harboured.

Nine more years would pass before the King reached his end.

"Where did that damn boy go this time?" he muttered.

"He headed into the Haunted Wastelands, my Lord." a distraut Eleana informed him. She gazed down at her lord as he struggled in his death-thros. "I will not leave you to search for him. Your time has come."

"Have the jackals gathered to witness the passing of the lion?" he joked, refering to the emmisaries that the King of Hyrule had sent.

"Eric is here, and the crown prince." she quietly informed him. "They stand outside this chamber."

The old king suddenly gripped her arm, and she turned a pale face to his. "Don't ever trust him. Don't go to him. I would take him with me into the next world if I could. All your sorrows are because of his carelessness." Suddenly, a monstrous form began to overcome his human visage. The gauntlets were vying for domination over his weakened body and spirit. An inhuman cry came from a lipless mouth. His arms rippled with unbidden power, turning into muscular pillars of flesh covered in green scales. The bed, although massive, could not hold his expanding form.

Eleana's mind went numb to see the creature her lord had been holding back all these years. Great waves of evil mulitplied all around him, and she gave a great, mindless scream as all her courage left her. She was barely aware that Eric had forced his way past the Gerudo guards and that they had all burst into the room at the sound of the creature and Eleana's scream.

He had become a creature so large that he needed to bend his head to keep it from hitting the high ceiling. He tossed aside his opponents, throwing them against the walls with such force that the breath was knocked from their lungs. The two Gerudo guards did not move, but Eric rolled skilfully and landed in a crouch, his sword extended, his pale eyes hardened chips of ice. He thrust his sword with all his might into the underbelly of the beast that the King had become, but instead, his weapon broke, sheared off at the hilt.

The crown prince ventured in, his face pale to see the horror that no one had ever seen before. The Sacred Sword was in his hand, and Eleana saw it, her eyes magnetized to its wondrous blade. But she was frozen with fear. She could neither move nor speak. Eric was at the mercy of the creature that had been her husband. She watched with horror as he was easily caught and lifted, thrown with such force against the wall, that he lay quite still for many moments. She thought that he had died.

The creature turned its gaze to her and advanced, reaching out a claw, but suddenly, the prince was there, sword drawn. He was shaking, without any courage, he was nearly as paralyzed with fear as she was. He lifted the sacred blade, drawing its edge across the creature's palm. The creature retreated a step, hurt by the sword. With his other hand, however, he caught the brave prince unaware, and dashed him against the far wall. The sacred sword flew out of his hands, and a sickening crunch was followed by a deadly silence.

Eric moved, slowly regaining his footing, weaving, and off balance, he went for the sacred sword, but the creature put his foot upon it and dealt the Kakarikan a mortal blow. The creature, of pure evil made, again turned its eyes on Eleana, who stood paralyzed. _I'm going to die now._ she thought, and felt her knees weaken. The Gerudo King, however, made his final breath, and the evil creature could no longer be sustained. The creature shrank and became the husk of a man that she barely could recognize. He was descimated, mere skin and bones, the black gauntlets gigantic on his withered arms. His spine was curved. His hair was mere wisps of white attached tenuously to his skull. His features were hollowed by the mighty struggle he had made against the evil he had contained until now. Had he lived his full two hundred years, he would not have looked so spent.

Before her eyes, his body disappeared, and only the gauntlets were left, two slashes of darkness upon the floor. The bodies of the two men lay like broken dolls. The two Gerudos began regaining their senses.

The attack had taken mere moments. In her entire life as a thief, she had never witnessed such violence as this. It's horrific proportions made the scene unreal. There was no evidence that the creature existed but for the broken bodies strewn about the room. She trembled from top to bottom and made her way over to Eric, who lay face up on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth and nose. He lay so still, and she feared touching him.

When she approached, he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Are you OK?" she asked, heartened that his eyes had opened. She knelt down beside him.

His eyebrows became contorted as he concentrated for a moment. "I...can't feel anything." he said. "The prince?"

Eleana glanced at the still form of the prince and saw his eyes staring widely and unblinking, his neck twisted unnaturally. She looked back at Eric and shook her head.

"I..have ...failed." he whispered. More blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Eleana."

She bent forward to catch his words, her heart squeezing in anguish when she realized that she was watching him die. "I'm here, Eric." she said softly, and put her palm on his forehead, brushing away an errant strand of silver hair.

"You must take the sacred...you must take the sword.." his mouth moved, but no more sound came out. He struggled for a bit.

"I'll return it to the King." she promised quietly. She continued trailing her fingers through his hair and shushing him, so that he could conserve what strength he had left.

"The king has ... ocarina." his eyes began filling with tears. "Your mother...gave it to him. Long ago."

Eleana nodded, unable to speak, her own eyes filling with tears.

"Eleana." his lips moved, forming her name. "I wish..." he looked directly at her, gazing deeply into her eyes. He opened his mouth to say more, but only a giant sigh escaped his lips. His eyes became fixed. He did not breathe in.

Eleana continued stroking his hair, feeling how soft it was. Tears spilled from her eyelashes and fell unheeded onto his face. "Eric." she murmured. He had seemed so strong, so invincible...how quickly his life had been dashed. In mere moments, in an act meant to defend her, he had unhesitatingly spent his life. No one in the entire world would ever love her like that. He thought that her life was worth more than his own. She felt overwhelmed by a sudden sense of unworthiness. "This is too hard of a lesson." she quietly said. "This is too hard." she repeated, her throat blocked.


	13. Evan

**Up to this point:** Navi is cursed by the Kokiri to become human for the next 100 years. She is drawn to a young couple whose chase has ended up in Kokiri territory. Every time she approaches them she loses more of her fairy aspect and finally she becomes Elena's child.

Elena and Cameron find out that they will soon have a child. Before they can announce their news, Elena's little brother spills the beans. Enraged, Elena's Dad kills Cameron. Elena inherits all his worldly possessions, including an ocarina, and is taken to the Haunted Wastelands by her father where he abandons her.

A Gerudo scout finds Elena 1/2 dead in the haunted wasteland. They take her in and discover her condition, but find that she cannot speak, so they know nothing about how or why she ended up in the desert. She stays with the Gerudo, and after time has passed, gives birth to a daughter, who she names Eleana.

Eleana is 20, and has been a master thief since 16. Her notoriety is so bad that relations between Hyrule and Gerudo break down. Then one fateful day, Eleana choses a victim who is more skilled than she is. He tries to capture her, but she evades him, and using the bunny hood, she gets away.

Eleana takes a break at Lake Hylia, feeling safe from any pursuit. She washes her clothes, and falls asleep while she waits for them to dry. However, by the end of the day, he has tracked her down. He gets the item from her and knocks her out. She's on her way to Hyrule jail.

Eleana and her captor spend the night at LonLon Ranch where he makes her endure humiliation.

Eric brings Eleana to the castle, and the King orders her thrown into the dungeon. When the King interviews the prisoner, Eleana steals the sacred sword and escapes.

Eric completes the Zoran mission and begins one to the Gerudo. He discovers that Elena is Eleana's mother, and that Eleana hasn't been back to the Gerudo Hideout for a long time. He returns the ocarina, but keeps the bunnyhood. He goes home and finds Eleana waiting for him.

Eric captures the elusive Gerudo thief, and charges her with her crimes. He ties her to a chair. While he and his wife are preoccupied, she uses the mysterious melody to loosen her bonds. She escapes, but first, recovers the bunny hood. She makes her way to the Gerudo Hideout.

Eleana returns to the Hideout, but is summoned to the King's chambers before she can bathe or even greet her mother. He wants more than just information from her regarding her lastest meeting with Eric.

The King transforms, using the black gauntlets, and discovers, inadvertently, that she is truly Navi. The black gauntlets, however, cause so much fear in her, that she triggers his evil reaction. He bends her body and will to his, and vows that she will never again leave the hideout.

After many years of marriage, Eleana gives birth to a son. Nine years later, in his death throes, the Gerudo King lets go the monster he had been holding back. Eric and the crown prince of Hyrule jump in to defeat the evil, but they are themselves defeated.

**Chapter 13: Evan**

She placed a tender kiss on his cold lips, "I wished it too." she said quietly, and with one last lingering gaze, stood up and turned away from his body. She looked at the Sacred Sword and went over to it. As much as she wanted to bring the Sacred Sword back to the King of Hyrule, she was afraid that the news of his son's death would enrage him. She took the scabbard from the dead prince's body. She retrieved and placed the wondrous sword into it. She hadn't the courage to fight that evil thing that had driven her half mad after all these years. Her heart was filled with remorse for the cowardice she had revealed to them. If she had to do it again, she didn't think she could defeat him. No, not even if she had that blade in the palm of her hand, and her body infused with the same power, she had no courage.

She looked at the black gauntlets that lay upon the floor, and could not bring herself any nearer to them than she was. She gave the evil things a wide berth and stepped through the doorway as Gerudo guards began streaming into the room. None of them seemed to pay any attention to her. She felt invisible. In shock, she wandered away, and none challenged her. In one hand, she carried the Sacred Sword. On her face, an empty, bleak expression. The Gerudo that guarded the gate allowed her exit. She did not return their greeting.

For which man did her heart sorrow? How often had she met the Kakarikan? Fewer times than she could count on one hand. His children were in their late twenties, yet he seemed as ageless as when she had first oogled him on the riverbank those many years ago. He had moved with the same grace, the same confidence and strength. He had been formidable as her opponent. Except for that one kiss at the Lake, his honor had been unbending. On the other hand, the Gerudo King had been commanding, and had her respect and affection, but nothing more than that. Their marriage seemed more like a bargain. More often than not, he had been distant and cold. Only near the end could she appreciate his sacrifice, yet she wished that he had never put on the ghastly armour. He had done it all to keep her out of the hands of the Hylians.

But here she was, the moon rising, the distant voice of the wolf mournful on the evening air, wandering away from the prison that had been her home for all of her life. She had never belonged there, she felt it in her soul. She belonged in a place where the trees grew so closely and so old that you could carve a house out of one of them and it would still live. In her dreams, a great tree haunted her with strange melodies. And it was in those dreams that she felt her heart come to a peaceful rest. The Hylians hated her and still on occasion would hunt her. There was none amoung them her equal in skill. She easily bested the best of them. The Gerudo were highly skilled, but cold and conniving. The Gorons and Zoras were just plain strange. She found no favorable company amoung them, only a distant friendship.

She walked upon the Plains of Hyrule, coming to rest, at last, under the branches of a golden tree. She lay down and slept for a while, tucking the sword beneath her for comfort. She felt the emptiness inside of her in a distant, dry-eyed way. She knew her life would no longer be the same. She no longer wished to use her body to get the things she wanted, because she no longer wanted anything. Her stomach was hungry, but it felt like someone else's stomach. When she lay her head upon the ground, she heard the distant thunder of horses' hooves upon the earth, far in the distance. She was aware of Gerudos heading toward Hyrule town with the news that their crown prince was dead. Six hours later, she was awakened by the same sound, heavier, a larger company of horsed men headed out from Hyrule town toward the Gerudo Hideout. The earth itself was restless with the news of the great horror.

The rumor that the Gerudo King and Queen had vanished, perished, annihilated by the evil that the Gerudo King had let loose. The Gerudo Prince also was missing.

The crown prince of Hyrule and his body guard were both dead, and their bodies were taken back to Hyrule. The entire town was draped in black, and investigation ordered by the new crown prince, the twenty-five year old brother of the one who had died. He ordered that the news of the missing sword be kept secret. He knew something was not right as he directed his men to remove the bodies of his brother and their teacher. He was shaken to see the Kakarikan's body broken like that. He knew the man's capabilities. The thing that had killed him must have been the result of some kind of enhanced beserker training. There was no way anyone human could have ever overcome him. Yet, to his aging father, he reported none of his suspicions. He allowed the old man to draw his own conclusions. He had been a close friend of Eric's, and the young prince had no inclination to make the loss any sharper than it was.

He made his next priority Eric's family. He lifted his fist to the door. He hesitated, gripping the hilt of his dress sword. He took a deep breath and bowed his head. Gathering all his courage, he knocked. A few moments later, Impa came to the door. Her eyes lit up to see him, but she noticed his solemn attitude at once. "What's wrong, little brother? Impo, Evan is here." Her twin brother, taller by a head, loomed behind her. He looked so like his father, that Evan hitched his breath a little. Suddenly, he couldn't speak. He felt tears gather in his eyes.

If their faces could become paler, they did. "Evan, what is it?" Impa automatically embraced him.

"Your father..." he could say no more.

Impo and Impa stared at each other. The words he left unspoken hung heavily between them. Their world would no longer be the same. This would not be a day they would easily forget. The twins drew him into the house. Their mother stood by the table, slowly wiping her hands, a stunned expression on her face. "What happened" she quietly asked. "Is he hurt?"

Evan shook his head. "M'am," he quietly said, unable to raise his voice any higher, "Your husband died in the line of duty defending my brother."

Her chin went up and her eyes glittered. Her hands became still. "Did he die with honor?" she quietly enquired.

"We do not know the circumstances of his death. My brother, the crown prince, also died. By the positions of their bodies, and accounts of the witnesses I interviewed, it appears that they were attacked by an entity under the command of the Gerudo King. The Queen of the Gerudos and their crown prince are both missing. They may have escaped. Although why they didn't stay..." he ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling the smooth edges. "By all accounts, the monster was large enough to swallow them whole."

"You are now the crown prince." she said. Perhaps she was trying to distract herself. Her expression was bleak and her face pale. She sat at the table for a moment. Her son and daughter came to stand beside her. "When the time comes, you will be the one to rule the Kingdom of Hyrule, and as Kakarikans, we are vowed to defend you." The three of them gazed at him. "Impo, Impa." she said.

His two white-haired friends stepped before him obediantly and knelt down on one knee. They bowed their heads and offered their services to him. "I accept your kind offer." he solemnly said, moved by their gesture.

He stayed for a while longer, giving them details regarding the location of their father's body and the time of the funeral, then made his exit. He couldn't bear to gaze upon their brave facade for much longer. He mounted his horse, and with a signal, his escort followed suit. With a solemn pace, they left the village and headed back to the castle to prepare for the funeral. Both of them would, in procession, be laid to rest in the Graveyard behind the windmill. The ceremony would begin at the Temple of Time, the Prince's body lying in state beneath the glimmering treasures that kept the door to the sanctum open. Every person in Hyrule would be there.

His brother had always been fascinated with Eric's skills and even as a little boy had pestered the poor man into telling them stories about his escapades. He had peppered the Kakarikan with questions about how he had tracked, impressed with Eric's sharp senses. Eric had always indulgently complied with his brother's wishes. He had followed him around constantly. To the very end. He sighed. His brother would be happy to end his life beside Eric. Now the burden of responsibility fell to him.

Not long after the funerals, a rumor began to spread that the Sacred Sword was missing, lost after the death of the Gerudo King. It also was discovered that the Gerudo heir had been in the Haunted Wastelands during the time of the tragedy. Many people suspected Ganondorf, a mere child of nine at the time, had ordered it secreted away. Others speculated that there had been no monster at all, but the Gerudo Queen, who had been a notorious thief for so long, had contrived her own disappearance so that she could steal the famous royal artifact. This rumor soon became regarded as truth, for the Queen was never found. Although Evan did his best to have the matter thoroughly investigated, he could draw no satisfactory conclusion as to its wherabouts.

Evan, with thick, silky blonde hair and peircing blue eyes had been chased by every woman on the continent. His broad shoulders, his air of disregard, his reputation as a rake kept him popular and the subject of many an evening meal's discussion in homes from Lake Hylia to the depths of the Kokiri Forest. His parents had worried about his brother not marrying, now that unwelcome attention would be on him. The pressure to produce an heir solely lay upon his shoulders. However, he hadn't found a woman yet who interested him in such a serious way. There were a great many for him to pick and choose.

Many years would pass, and even at thirty-five, he was a man who cut a dashing figure, and his unmarried state was still subject to dinnertime discussions. In the meantime, rumours of a beautiful water nymph near the Kokiri Forest, in the depths of the Lost Woods also sprang up. For the last ten years, she was rumored to haunt the Forest Temple with her presence.

Evan didn't care for rumor-mongers, and had paid no attention to what he considered a bed-time story. No Hylian had been near the Kokiri Forest for 2 generations already, and there was a reason for that. He wasn't sure what, but menace and death came quickly to those who became lost in its pathways. There was no reason for anyone to venture so close to danger. However, Ganadorf was now nineteen, and it was rumored that he had discovered some mysterious power that gave him inhuman strength. Although the Gerudo and Hylians now enjoyed a semblance of peace, Evan found this new power on the Gerudo disturbing. Considering the Hylian/Gerudo history, things could go from bad to worse in a very short time.

Evan decided that a quest for the Sacred Sword had to be undertaken, for the sake of the future of Hyrule. He gathered several trusted emmisaries and sent them into the farthest reaches of the surrounding kingdoms. Within a month, they were to report back to the castle with their findings. He consulted with the Sage of Light at the Temple of Time, who assured him that the item still existed. He suggested to Evan, who was now King of Hyrule, his father having passed on two years previously, that all the sages of the temples and the sage of Hyrule Field be gathered together in the Temple so that they may also aid in the quest.

After the allotted time had passed, all his emmisaries returned except the one he had sent to the Kokiri Forest. They waited an extra day for him, but he never showed. None of the other emmisaries had anything to report. The sages of each temple were also gathered, except for the Sage of Forest. There hadn't been one for generations. The King of Hyrule tapped his fingers impatiently on the handle of his chair. "We can no longer wait for him. Is there nothing else to report?" Silence was his answer. "Very well, I will lead a party of men into the Forest. Until we eliminate that as a possibility, we can't fully begin the quest." The room buzzed with his decision.

He decided to take Impa with him as one of the members of his party, and let Impo know where they were headed. Impo did not like the idea. He had to stay home for the next while, however, since his growing family needed his full attention, and the King was loathe to place the father of so many boys in jeapardy. Although this rankled with the Kakarikan, he accepted the King's decision and spent an evening with his sister before she left to join the King.

"You know dad always talked about that sword." he said quietly to her. "He said he saw someone use it once to its fullest capacity. Both him and the old King could not get it to do the same thing. He said a woman wielded it with such skill that she was able to escape the castle dungeons. He said it gave off a green glow. Perhaps the Kokiri Forest is involved in this quest somehow. The Sacred Sword resonates with the same color as the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. But you know that I will worry about you until you return. I want you to be careful and remember everything that father taught us. And don't forget about the entrance to the Lost Woods that the Gorons guard. I heard that they blocked off that entrance some time ago. Darunia can remove the boulders that block the way. Is the Sage of Hyrule Field going as well? I've heard that he has some knowledge of the hidden pathways. And Impa..."

Impa turned to her brother expectantly.

"...Keep an eye on him. He's our only king, and there is no heir. This is insanity for him to lead this expedition. I don't know what he is thinking, but its all up to you. The entire future of Hyrule literally rests in your hands."

"I will spend my life if necessary." she said, feeling the heavy burden he had just placed on her.

"Have enough Deku nuts?" he smiled.

She nodded.

"I've heard that there are places in the Kokiri Forest that lead to every known kingdom, and that a Great Tree rules the forest, and knows many things with its deep roots than even we don't know about. If you come across such an entity, be sure to ask it to share its wisdom. It may be that you will need that help. If it's true, that is."

Impa smiled at her brother, and started to gather her things together. This was a bit far-reaching of him to bring such irrational things into the conversation. He must really care for her. She smiled at the thought. "I'm meeting the King in the morning by the drawbridge, so I have to have an early start." she said. "Will you get up with me in the morning?"

He nodded and started getting ready for bed. His wife was in the kitchen, preparing a lunch for Impa to take with her in the morning. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the head. She said: "I'm glad you're not going. I know that you want to, but I think the King is on my side this time."

He smiled, but his smile faded as he gazed at his sister, who walked up the stairs to the loft. "We go on all our missions together. This will be her first time alone, and it's so very important, and so very dangerous. No one has come back from that forest for two or three generations. It's like some kind of curse was put upon it. I hope that for our sakes the curse will be broken, because if they don't come back, I'm going to have to go looking for them."


	14. Emeritus

**Chapter 14: Emeritus**

It did not take very long for him to decide to follow Impa and Evan to the Kokiri Forest. That very night, while his wife slept, he prowled around the house gathering what he needed to take with him. He visited each of his boys, in turn, while they slept, placing a kiss on their heads, and a warm hand on their hair. It amazed him that they all had red or brown hair. None of them seemed very like him at all, except in the way they were able to pick up on their training.

Not wanting to alarm his wife, although she knew him well enough, he left a note on the bedside table for her to find in the morning. He was loathe to wake her from her sleep with any arousing good-bye kiss, so he only kissed her as he had the boys, and then put his hand on the swell of her belly where their sixth child awaited to enter this world. He would be coming soon if all went well.

He lifted his rucksack onto his shoulder, pulling away any stray strands of silver hair, and quietly left his home. He led his horse to the outskirts of the village, mounted and spurred the beast into the direction of the Kokiri domain.

As his father had taught him, he paused often, by the light of the moon, and tracked the company all the way to the forest's edge. He dismounted and led his horse behind him, feeling the oppressive spirit aligned against him the moment he entered. The horse would not follow, so he reluctantly let the reins go, and proceeded on foot. Looking at the ground, he saw that they had all proceeded on foot at this point. He recognized them by their shoes. He stepped forward, expanding his senses to catch any sense of danger. All the vegetation muted sounds within the dark forest. The smell of moss and rotting leaves overcame any scent that would warn him of approaching predators. The dense canopy of leaves extinguished the light of the moon. He cautiously began his trek into the forest, following the gleaming path.

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Eleana floated lazily in the pool of water idly playing the wooden ocarina. The maze that pilgrims to the forest temple had to negotiate had several pools like this. She took her daily bath there when the giants were otherwise occupied. It was funny, she wasn't afraid of the huge dangerous creatures. She knew that they were stupid and slow, although their brute strength was not to be laughed at. She could easily get around them, and had become used to them in the same way everyone else became used to the birds or the squirrels.

She still had the face and body of a twenty year old. No one could tell any of the trials she had endured, except for the faint scars on her back, and no one would think that she was sixty-five years old. She had been in the forest for ten years now, and had brought the Sacred Sword with her, hiding it far from anyone's reach. She knew that someday, before she died, she would have to return it to the King of Hyrule. For now, however, she was content to live out the rest of her life in the peaceful confines of the Temple. Even though lately, her body had become restless. Eric and the old Gerudo King had haunted her dreams.

The moment that he had donned the gauntlets had been something she tried her best to repress, and such things would often surface while she slept. She had awoken many times, at first, with tears on her face. This had not happened for a long time, but now, for the past month, she had again suffered in her dreams, reliving the tortures she had endured at the hands of the Gerudos. The death of Eric weighed heavily upon her, even ten years later; she remembered how his body lay broken upon the floor of her bedchamber, and the words he said, and how hard it had been. Even now, her heart squeezed within her at the memory of it.

In the distance, at the gate of the maze, the howl of a wolf alerted her to the presence of others. When was the last time anyone had ventured here? Her only visitor of late had been a green-haired Kokiri by the name of Saria. The wolves never howled at her. She had, in her possession, a crude wooden ocarina, and the two had spent endless hours practicing different melodies that came to them.

She rose out of the water, quickly dried herself off and put on her clothes. She ran to the ladder that lead to the fairy fountain, and got up onto the platform. In this way, leaping from platform to platform, she avoided the ugly giants. She finally arrived at the platform that overlooked the entrance. Upon the forest floor, a blonde man and a white-haired woman fought the wolf that made its home there. She watched curiously as the woman constantly leapt in front of the man to defend him. Shouldn't he be defending her? But the woman was highly skilled. Her every move betrayed superior training and skills beyond the ordinary. Was she skilled enough to defeat the giants that lurked in the maze? Eleana decided to watch for a while. If they could pass the giants, she decided that she would confront them.

The wolf leapt at the man, and the silver-haired girl stabbed the creature, defeating him. Suddenly, the gates to the maze opened. The two Hylians paused, recovering their breath. They looked at each other. They were all that was left of the party that had begun the quest for the Sacred Sword three days ago. Everything had gone wrong. This gate opening for them was ominous, yet a hopeful sign that they were close to what they sought.

The woman stepped forward cautiously, and Eleana nodded her approval. Her moves seemed familiar somehow, and instead of returning to the temple right away to await them, she became mesmerized by them. The tall fair-haired man sheathed his weapon and crept just as quietly, casting a quick glance back over his shoulder. He felt her gaze, but didn't know where she was yet. She retreated a few steps back.

Just then, however, Eric entered the small clearing. Eleana nearly fell over, her legs gone weak. Eric! How could it be? She had watched him die in her arms! The same intensity in his eyes, the same confident stride, his silver hair rising and falling with the force of his forward motion. Behind him, the Sage of Hyrule Field followed.

The silver-haired girl noticed Eric and hissed. "Impo!" You were supposed to stay out of this!"

Impo! Eric's son: Eleana felt her heart rate slow down. Of course, he would be in his late thirties, early forties by now. What a fool she was! She definitely had to watch what they would do next. But if his senses were as sharp as his father's, she had to be cautious about revealing herself to them.

The Sage of Hyrule Field bade them all be quiet. "The music has stopped." He informed them.

Impo suddenly glance upward, his eyes catching some kind of movement. He froze. Evan and the rest followed his gaze. "What is it?"

"We are being watched."

"I think someone's been watching us since we set foot in this accursed place!" Evan exclaimed. He was glad that Impo had joined them, and the Sage was okay.

Impa glanced around the corner, and withdrew her head quickly. "Ogres!" she hissed. She put her hand in her pouch, retrieving several deku nuts. Fortunately for her, she had found an abundance of the seeds in the forest. She had collected enough to take on an entire army. She waited until the creature was nearly abreast of them before suddenly attacking. She made short work of the ugly beast, and the party advanced into the maze. Cautiously, they negotiated the rest of the maze, defeating the monsters easily.

Eleana knew, however, that the last giant could not be so easily defeated. His mighty truncheon kept anyone with a deku nut out of range. His attacks were swifter than the others' and more over, he had a nasty temper. It was his job to keep anyone from the Temple. Eleana had easily passed him because she was swifter than his attacks, but she didn't know if all of them could dodge him so easily. Once they got passed him, they would have to deal with her.

As they turned the last corner, they heard the mighty pounding ahead of them. Impo and Impa exchanged glances. Someone was ahead of them! They all cautiously ascended the stairs. They paused at the top, looking at the formidable barrier that confronted them now. "I'll go first." Impa said. She readied some deku nuts and crouched, preparing to sprint down the narrow alley.

They all watched her. As soon as the giant perceived her, he began pounding massive waves of energy at her. She leapt from one side to another, finally passing the gargantuan, freezing it with her deku nuts. She slashed at him several times with her short sword until he was defeated. She beckoned to the others to come forward, and they began. She turned, peering into the meadow in front of the Forest Temple. She thought she saw a blue glow…then an arrow came swiftly at her, embedding itself into her shoulder.

Impo rushed to her side. The arrow hit her with so much force that she had spun around. His eyes scanned for any threat. He took out his own bow and arrow. The King unsheathed his sword and unslung his shield from his back. The sage, puffing, finally caught up to them and tended to Impa's wound.

Another arrow came screaming out from the mists. Impo moved slightly to the left, and felt the arrow whiz through his hair, lifting a lock of hair away from his neck. One or two inches, and he would have been dead. He immediately answered with his own arrow, and heard a distant thunk.

Another arrow, aimed at the King, hit and buried itself in the metal of the shield. Evan sucked in his breath, staring at the gleaming point of the shaft mere millimeters from his shield arm.

"Our opponent is only showing us his strength." Impo muttered. He again answered blindly to the arrow with one of his own. He bowed his head to listen for the footsteps rushing upon the grass, and heard only the slightest of whooshes. Their opponent wore a long cloak. By its sound, he could pinpoint his target. He let fly, and was rewarded with a distant cry of agony.

As one, Impo and Evan rushed toward the sound. A crumpled form lay upon the ground swathed in a blue cloak. Impo could see his arrow protruding from the chest…He turned him over, and found himself gazing into the face of a woman. From her hands, an intricate bow fell. Blood trickled from the edge of her mouth.

She wore silver armor, silver gauntlets and green tunic and trousers. She let out a moan.

The sage came running up behind them, supporting Impa. "Quickly, the giant still lives!"

Evan stooped and picked up the mysterious woman. They all ran up the stairs that lead to the temple. The giant, right behind them, smashed his anvil-like weapon upon the stairs, breaking them into smithereens. Without a look back, they all rushed toward the forest temple.

No sooner had they entered this domain than another wolf attacked. Impo, the only one not impeded by anything, swiftly pounded two arrows into the beast, quickly dispatching it. They all breathed more easily, looking around at their creepy, overgrown surroundings. It was obvious that no one had visited or cared for the temple for some time now.

Evan lay his burden down on the ground. Impo and the King knelt beside her, not knowing where to begin. They couldn't help but notice her fine features, and they couldn't help but wonder how a Hylian woman had come to be at the temple.

She opened her eyes and gazed at them for sometime. Finally, she said in whispery tones: "I expected nothing less from the son of Eric."

Following an instinct, the King opened his mouth. "We've come for the sword. Is it here?"

She tried to sit up, but more blood trickled out of her mouth. "Stay still." Impo ordered her. "I hit your lung. When I take out the shaft, it will be worse. But it's got to come out."

She nodded, and when he broke the feathered end off and pulled out the shaft, she let out an agonizing cry. Sweat stood out on her forehead and she became very pale. She fainted.

They removed her armor and tore away her shirt. Immediately, they covered the wound and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. They bandaged her wound and leaned her up against the tree. It would be better if she did not wake for a while, because she would try to cough, and it was better to allow the wound to clot.

"I don't want her to die." Evan told Impo quietly. "She might be the key to all this."

For the next several days, they nursed her through a raging fever. She spoke of things in her delirium that startled them all, and made them wonder what horrors she had witnessed. She said Eric's name more than once, and mentioned some kind of monstrous creature. More than once, she called for her ocarina and the Great Deku Tree. She thrashed around so much at one point that Evan had to hold her down so that her wound would not reopen.

He felt her body buck against his, and he felt a reaction from his own body as he held hers tightly. The heat of her fever seeped through his own shirt, burning his skin with its intensity. He wondered if she would live through this. There was no more cool water with which to bathe her forehead. Their attempts to bring down her fever amounted to naught. Their resources were waning. She had to snap out of it soon, or they would have to risk carrying her out, back through the accursed woods. It was a grim prospect, for their horses had run back home by now. They could not possibly cross Hyrule Field on time to save her life.

Then she lay very still beneath him. "I can't take the sword back to him Eric." She clearly spoke, her eyes fixed on some dream landscape. "He'll kill me! By Nayru, his son is dead because of me! The Deku Tree will help me. I've seen him. I've seen him in my dreams. He'll know what to do." Then she looked directly at Evan, although later on, admitted that she did not remember saying anything to him at all. She said: "I know where the sword is. It's the only thing that can free Hyrule from the monster. You've got to give it to the boy when the time comes. He must have it. He's the key to all of this. I promise. I promised to be with him always. I'm the one who started this whole mess. I've got to help him finish it. The Great Deku Tree knows. He knows everything. The ocarina…the ocarina is his gift to the boy. Without it, the land can't be healed…", and with that strange string of words, she passed out and lay as if dead.

She slept for an entire day and a night, during which Saria visited them, without being seen or heard, left them enough to drink and eat. When Eleana woke up, she noticed that she was not alone. She had a difficult time remembering the events that lead up to meeting these strangers. She didn't know where she was or what her name was. She gave the silver armor into the safekeeping of the Sage of Hyrule Field.


	15. Escape

**Chapter 15: Escape**

After a couple more days, allowing her to recover, she gradually remembered her name and remembered where she was. They asked her where the Sacred Sword could be, but she at first would not take them anywhere until she knew their names and their purpose.

"I am Evan." The King of Hyrule replied, but did not want her to know anymore than that.

So time and again, she led them to false passages within the Temple. The place was rife with pitfalls and deadly traps. Partly, she didn't trust them. Partly, she couldn't remember where she had placed it.

They sat around the campfire in the clearing just before the entrance to the temple, not knowing what to do. Evan and Impo spoke in low tones, wondering if it would be more worthwhile to come back another time. Impa idly strained her ears to hear what the two were whispering.

It had been ten years since Eleana had hidden the sacred sword. She slept by the fire, recovering her strength. How could she have forgotten where it was? Did Saria find it and take it away? She drifted into a dream while she listened to the low voices of the men. She jerked awake just before falling asleep. "Sorry." She murmured, coughing a little. She could feel herself healing, but she felt very weak from the fever.

Evan and the others gazed at her as she slept. "Do you suppose," Evan asked quietly, "That she is the one they talk about?"

Impo raised his eyebrow enquiringly.

"I've heard a rumor that there is a water nymph near the Forest Temple, and that she's been here for the past ten years." Evan supplied

"I thought you didn't pay any attention to rumors?" Impo needled, a slight smile on his face. He poked a stick into the dying embers of the fire.

Evan grimaced. He watched Impo stir the coals. "What if I hear one, then actually see it come true? Then it's not a rumor any more, is it?"

"I suppose, then, that she is the one they talk about." Impo agreed. He lifted the stick and watched the glowing ember at the tip as he traced pictures in the night air.

"I wonder how it is that she came to be here?" The King asked softly, more to himself than his bodyguard.

"You could ask her." Impo said and shrugged. He wasn't as interested in her as he was in finding the sword. He was getting tired of the Forest Temple. He kept hearing creepy music emanating from inside.

Impa, however, looked between the King and Eleana, and felt an arrow of jealousy. He had never looked at her in that manner. His gaze was soft, his voice full of concern, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her. She grit her teeth and left their meager campfire in search of the Sage of Hyrule Field. He stood some distance off, gazing at the broken steps. The two of them discussed how to get out of the Forest with their lives intact. So far, they had both noticed that someone had been leaving them food and drink for the past several days, but they did not know how much longer they could last. If they didn't find the sword soon, they may end up in the forest forever, under its curse.

They all settled in for another night, hoping it would be their last.

Evan woke up, not knowing what had awakened him. The full moon shone directly into the tiny glade in front of the temple doors. He looked around the dead campfire, seeing all his friends clearly in the silvery light. He noticed with some alarm that Eleana was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, and saw that the temple door was open. It beckoned to him. He got up and went into the darkened temple, his footsteps echoing eerily.

A strange sound came to his ears as he entered the main temple area, and in the dim light, he saw an elevator sink into the middle of the floor. He quickly ran forward and peered into its depths. Had that been Eleana? He was sure that he had glimpsed the glint of her hair, which was luminous in the dim light. He levered his body over the edge and hung onto the lip, then let go. He fell for only a moment, and his feet landed suddenly on the top of the elevator.

He was in a strange room whose walls were twirling slowly around…He spotted Eleana, straining to push against a part of the wall, and he silently jumped down. "Eleana!" he quietly spoke her name, more so as not to startle her when he walked up behind her.

She turned a pale face toward him, her expression one he couldn't read, except to know that she was agitated and distressed. Beads of sweat stood out on her brow, her arms were shaking, and her breath came in gasps. His instinct was to pull her away from the wall and hold her trembling body for a moment. He didn't know where this protective feeling came from. It made him feel wanted for once in his life. No, that wasn't quite right, for many people wanted him. He felt useful. He felt as if his reason for being had just been explained to him, and he finally understood it to mean that he had been born just for her: to love her, to help her, to be with her, and he realized this as he came up behind her, her body trembling with the effort to find the sword.

She looked up at him; her blue eyes close enough for him to see the many shades of blue within the irises. She was nearly collapsing from weakness, and he caught her when she swayed. "Let me." He said.

He guided her away from the wall, and took her place there, pressing the palms of his hands against the smooth surface and began pushing with all of his might.

She didn't understand the feeling that went through her when he touched her. Had she been in the Forest for too long? Had she forgotten the cruelty of men so quickly? Had she forgotten how they so eagerly used her body as a repository of their lust? Had she forgotten her own weakness to use their lustful eagerness to get what she wanted? She thought that if she wanted nothing, neither would she want anything in return from them. She wanted nothing.

Let them find the sword and leave.

She wrapped her arms around her ribs and stood aside, watching as he leaned into the wall, slowly rotating the entire room until one or another doorway was revealed. She imagined his nakedness as he strained against the weight of the task he set for himself. She shook her head, the image of his muscles rippling beneath the smooth warmth of his skin difficult to dislodge. She tried looking elsewhere.

His silky blonde hair, the eager look in his blue eyes, the soft curve of his lips when he looked at her: he was probably the most beautiful man she had ever set eyes on, except for one other. Again, she found her gaze drawn to his figure, and she wondered for a moment what it would feel like straining against hers.

She bit her lower lip until it hurt, and dragged her eyes away from him. Within her, a war began, for one part of her was starved for the things she denied herself, and the other part of her hated what those things had lead her to. She nearly moaned out loud. Why had they come?

At last, the gate was opened, and the main dungeon door revealed at the far end of a grand hallway. The two of them began treading cautiously down the hall, Eleana pulling out of her belt, a strange, elaborate golden key. Her hand trembled to insert the key into the keyhole, and she felt his hand steadying hers. Startled, she looked up at him, but his eyes were upon their hands, guiding the key into the lock.

A sound behind them caused them to turn away from their task and look back at the elevator. Impo, Impa and the Sage stood at the gate, starting down the hall toward them. Impo looked so like Eric that she was again startled by the striking resemblance and she drew in her breath shakily. His silver hair lifted off of his shoulders with his forward momentum, and she blinked, gulping, turning away from the image.

With a desperate strength, she quickly turned the key in the lock, the giant chains withdrawing with a noise that startled all but her. She stepped so quickly through the door that she almost broke into a run. She heard Evan call her name, but she did not stop her feet or slow down. In fact, she ran up the stairs into the gallery where, in the central mosaic, the Sacred Sword hung suspended in the air, its blade gleaming, its hilt glowing. She looked at it for a moment, remembering its power coursing through her arms, into her body.

She did not touch it.

She turned around, feeling it behind her, and looked at them. She spread her arms, and lowered her head, keeping her glowering eyes upon the group of people before her. "You may not pass, nor claim this sacred weapon. There is only one person that may take this sword, and that is the King of Hyrule. I will yield only to him." And she prepared her body for combat, shifting her stance so that her profile was limited to attack.

Her demeanor had changed so drastically, that both Impa and Impo had notched an arrow into their bows and took aim at her the moment she had turned around and stretched out her arms. Their instinct to protect the King was honed to the finest point.

She reached back without looking and grasped the handle of the sword when she saw Evan draw his weapon. "You will be defeated." She snarled.

But he extended his sword, hilt forward. "I am the King of Hyrule." He quietly informed her.

For a moment, she paused, looking more deeply at his face. "Prove it." She challenged.

He let his sword fall to the floor, and reached for the ring on his index finger.

She began to shake, realizing what he was doing. "Do not remove the seal, Lord, but come forward and show it to me."

Her tone was so forbidding that he stopped what he was doing, sliding the ring back on. With his hand outstretched, he slowly stepped forward. She kept her eyes on his face, glancing quickly at his hand. "Stay where you are!" she commanded, when she felt he had come too close.

He held it forward for her perusal, and made sure that he made no sudden movement. His eyes scanned her face, not understanding her sudden change, but knowing that this was how she had protected the greatest treasure of Hyrule. "How many have come this far?" he quietly asked.

"None." She admitted. She looked at it. It was the same ring. A lion rampant upon a triforce, the word "Hyrule" stamped on the bottom.

She nearly froze at the sight of it, a sudden lakeside breeze running through her memory, the feel of its weight in her palm, remembering her uncertainty. She shouldn't have taken it. She should have left it. She closed her eyes, released the hilt of the sword and knelt down before him. "My Lord." She whispered. "Does Hyrule have need of this weapon?"

"A wind arises in the desert." Was all he said.

"Then take it, if you have need of it. It should have been in its rightful place ten years ago. My life is in your hands" she submitted totally to his power, but still, the twins did not lower their weapons.

She had reached the end of her strength, and began to fall forward. Evan, attentive to her, quickly bent down and caught her. He scooped her up into his arms and brought her quickly out of the temple, laying her down beside the cold fire. She was light as a feather. Her body trembled with cold, and over-exertion. She still was recovering from her wound and the fever.

He covered her with her blanket and one of his own. He found that he could not leave her behind in this condition. He looked at the twins, his eyes full of concern. Impo shrugged and looked away. Impa only raised an eyebrow, and stomped off to the edge of the broken stairway. The sage only said: "We cannot leave her here, my lord.", voicing the King's thoughts.

"Neither can we remove her from here against her will." He murmured.

"She is in no condition to decide." He simply stated. "If we don't bring her with us, she may lapse back into the fever. It may settle into her lungs. She may die. Our provisions are gone. We need to get back to Hyrule Town as quickly as possible."

"It is settled then. I'll go back down and retrieve the sword. Stay here beside her." He commanded them as he usually did. Once he came to a decision, but still, Impa followed him back down into the dungeon, not trusting the abandoned temple.

Impo and the sage wrapped themselves in their blankets and fell into a restless sleep. The dangers of the forest seemed to be kept at bay, but they could sense them lurking outside of the temple, waiting for them like a great green monster that had no face, yet was full of sharp teeth and cunning treachery.

When they awoke at dawn, the King and Impa still hadn't returned. With some alarm, Impo went into the temple, tracing their path, but after an hour had passed, he did not return. With some trepidation, the sage began pacing back and forth between the woman and the temple door. He was in no ways strong enough to carry her around as the King had; nor did he feel that it was wise to leave her and go down into the bowels of the temple.

He went to her and shook her awake, the only other option he had, and loathed to do it, for he knew she was not well. She had fallen back into delirium not long after the King had wrapped her in the blankets. "Little one." He murmured. "Little one." He repeated. "You must come with me into the temple. Come on, stand up and put your arm around me. We will go together, and find out where the others have gotten to."

In her delirium, she thought that it was the Gerudo King who spoke to her, as he was before he had donned the gauntlets; someone for whom she had a great deal of affection and respect. He had called her "Little One", and so she obediently got up, slinging her arm around the sage, and with uncertain steps, went into the temple.

They went down the elevator, through the gates, through the dungeon door, up the stairs, and were astonished to see that the sword was gone. In its place, a tall beam of glowing light shot upwards into the darkness. The sage, however, was familiar with such things, and relief flooded his heart. His only regret was that they were waiting so long on the other side for them to come through. He quickly walked forward, renewing the strength in his arms, finding what he needed to continue supporting her. She leaned heavily upon him, and her body burned with the fever. "It's okay, little one, we're nearly there." And they stepped into the light.


	16. Enlightenment

**Chapter 16: Enlightenment**

Eleana put her hands on the balustrade, looking over the balcony towards Hyrule town, seeing the people there going about their daily business. It was peaceful. It was right.

She had been in the castle for six months now, and day-by-day, she saw the King's regard for her growing. She did not mind his attention. In fact, she found that her mind dwelt upon him more and more with each passing day. Their eyes sought one another first before any other. However, there was an unspoken fear.

He did not know who she was, and she did not wish to tell him. The mysteries of the past were long settled in everyone's mind. Eleana had gone into the Lost Woods and emerged as someone new. She had quelled every bodily desire, and still did so. She was determined that no one would or could awaken any such thing in her again. So why had she stayed? After her body finished healing, why hadn't she returned to the woods? She puzzled over it.

He had done nothing to encourage her attention. He hadn't kissed her; hadn't even touched her. Only his smouldering gazes from across the room, from across the table. He had never approached her, yet while in his company, they shared a great many conversations that both enjoyed.

So she determined to leave. She saw no sense in staying. She had no real role to play in the castle, and she saw that Impa had started openly glaring at her.

She put on her green jerkin, her green tunic, which she had dug up from some trunk. She didn't know what had happened to the silver gauntlets, nor to her bow. She supposed that they were back at the Forest Temple. Although the thought of spending any more time in the gloomy place did not seem as ideal as it had ten years ago, she still felt that it was where she most belonged.

She opened the door and looked both ways. No one was about. The castle was settling for the night. She had already had dinner, and had gone to the kitchen to pack some provision. She did not want to meet him. She just wanted to be gone. She managed to sneak past every guard. Considering her Gerudo roots, it was sublime. For a moment, the thrill of outwitting these dullards caused a strange forgotten feeling to course throughout her being.

All would have gone well, had not Evan glanced out of his window and saw her. In the dim light, with her old clothing, he at first didn't recognize her. He nearly leaned out the window and gave alarm, when he noticed something familiar, and he realized that it was Eleana. She was leaving. A feeling encompassed him that he couldn't explain, and without another thought, he rushed out of his room and went to catch her.

He had been readying for bed, so his shirt was unbuttoned, not tucked in and billowing in the breeze that his forward movement caused. He didn't give any thought to what he must look like. His entire attention was on one theme: she was leaving! With that, a revelation had come to him. He did not want her to leave. She belonged by his side. Without her, there would be a space that could never again be filled. He was nearly panic-stricken to realize she wouldn't be there by his side, and he kicked himself for the fool he was not to have ever told her.

He knew that it was undignified for a King to be running through the castle grounds. It could even alarm the watch to see their King dashing about as if catching a thief that they hadn't perceived. He tried to slow his pace, but he found that he couldn't. The thought of her slipping through his fingers so easily made his heart squeeze with anguish. Why hadn't he approached her sooner than this? How had he let her intimidate him? No woman had ever intimidated him before. He knew that for the most part, he had never had to chase down a woman. There had always been plenty for the taking. Had he assumed that she would be like that?

He paused at the inner gate and wildly looked about. The guards stationed there gave him a questioning glance, but did not stop him. He was king. He could do what ever the hell he wanted. Besides, he didn't order them to do anything. "My Lord," one of them, however, asked. "Are you in need of assistance?"

"Do not leave your post." He threw the order over his shoulder and dashed to the outer gate. He thought he saw something furtive there. She was running along the top of the gates! His breath caught in his throat. He hadn't realized she was so agile! For a moment, he wondered if it really was Eleana. Maybe in the dim light, his eyes had played tricks on him. Could she really do that? He dashed after her. He hadn't even stopped to put on his boots. He was bare-foot, and now he felt the night breeze on his bare chest. But there was no time to arrange his clothing in a decent manner.

With a burst of speed, he ran after her, racing along the top of the gate like a cat. After all, as a teenager, he had done it many times.

She was ahead of him, not even aware that he had pursued. She was walking slowly with her head down. He slowed down. "Eleana." He spoke her name softly.

She froze and stopped. Had she any weapons, her instinct was to go for them. Not too many people could sneak up on her like that. She reached behind her as if her scimitars were hanging there. She stopped the upward motion of her hands just in time, then relaxed. Goosebumps broke out on her entire body when she recognized his voice. She drew in her breath and her heart began beating at an alarming rate. He had followed! What twisted sense of humor did Din, Farore and Nayru have? He must have seen her leaving. She had been so sure that he wouldn't have seen her! Slowly she turned around to face him, and was startled to see how he was dressed. She felt frozen to the spot, and a warm arrow of desire kept her from speaking words.

She tried to fight it, but her body, having gone without for so long, and in fact, never having been properly aroused by any one man in her entire life anyway (although she hadn't known it), but for Eric and his wife, her body was demanding that its needs be met in him. She tried to fight this, but it was like fighting the storm on high seas. It was a struggle she was bound to lose.

He approached, a strange light in his eyes when he saw the look on her face. "Where are you going?" he softly asked. He reached out with one hand and touched her shoulder, running his palm down to her elbow, his fingers curling around her arm. He pulled her closer to him and bent his head to hers.

She felt his lips on hers. She hadn't been expecting this. Her entire body began trembling. "Evan." Was all she said, and put her arms around him, reaching up to his neck, pulling him closer, feeling his hands go around her waist, pulling her body against his. She meant to continue telling him that she was no good for him; that she had to stay away from him because she was bad. She had been a thief. She had bed not dozens of men, but hundreds in her quest for paltry things. She wanted to say it was she who had been the cause of strife between their two kingdoms, but she said none of this. She couldn't get past his name. Her mind was spinning at the reaction he got out of her hungry body.

"Evan." She said, finally pushing him away, not able to look him in the eye. The feel of his hard demanding body against hers had nearly taken away all reason. She felt as if she was not only fighting his desires, but also her own. She gulped down the sorrow she felt when she denied them both, pushing him away like that. "I have to leave. I don't belong here." She turned away from him.

His arms fell loosely to his sides, a feeling of emptiness yawning and unbearable. The feel of her body against his felt so right. How could she not feel the same way? He had never been in such a predicament. However, neither had he ever been petulant about not getting his own way. He was shocked that she felt she didn't belong.

"My father had this bodyguard, you know." He said.

Eleana froze. She knew he meant Eric.

"He was the most unusual of men. He was an albino. His skin was white. His hair was white. If you look at Impo, you have a pretty good idea of what he looked like. He was one of the most disciplined people I had ever met. Everyday he practiced. I asked him if he ever grew tired of practicing. Do you know what he said?"

Eleana shook her head.

"He said: 'Anything can happen today.'" Evan stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. Then he said. "Eleana, if you really feel that you don't belong, I won't make you stay. You were never my prisoner." His voice had dropped to a whisper for the last part. He felt her body stiffen beneath his embrace. Slowly, he brought his arms down. For a long moment, she stood there, inches from him. Then, without a backward glance, she began walking away. He felt as if she was taking a piece of him with her. He watched her as she disappeared over the edge of the bluff, climbing down the vines that grew there.

He stood there for a long time, not feeling the cold night air, his mind numb. Finally, he turned and went back to the castle. He stayed in his room for a week and drank himself senseless. The next week he invited a different woman to his bed every night, but sent them away before actually getting beyond kissing a lot. The week after that he spent hunting, killing every animal that came into range. Deer, wolves, rabbits and squirrels, even a cougar all fell to his bow. He skinned and gutted the carcasses, and except for the wolf and lion, they all ended up on his table. The week after that, he started sleepwalking, which he hadn't done since he was twelve, and people around him started getting concerned.

Unknown to him, after he fell asleep, Impo would be stationed at the bedroom door incase he ever wandered off and did anything dangerous to himself or anyone else. When Impo followed him, however, it was to the same place every night: across the grounds, over the gate and then standing there for the longest time, his hair whipped by the wind, or getting rained on, or whatever the weather, just staring, then trudging back to bed.

He would wake up each morning tired, not refreshed, and depressed. He slept in later and later, and finally the physician was called in to see if any thing was wrong. He bled him just in case, but there was no change. The doctor could find nothing physically wrong with him. He told him to go to the temple and make an offering to the goddesses.

Impo went with him, as usual, like a shadow. "I should too." He said. "Ever since I lost her, I've had to be strong for the boys. We'll never get used to not having her there, but we're finally managing. I miss her a lot; I don't think I'll ever marry another."

When they had returned from the Kokiri Forest, Impo's family had suffered the greatest loss a family could endure. His wife had taken a fall and gone into early labour. The oldest boy had gone for the neighbor. It had not looked good. After a very long and exhausting labour, she had given birth to a boy, but she had lost too much blood. She had died soon after from shock and fever. The newborn struggled for life, finally deciding to live the day Impo returned.

It had been a devastating blow for him, since he remembered that the King had ordered him not to come to the Forest Temple to begin with, so he took her loss as a punishment for his lack of obedience. He remembered kissing her on the forehead as he had the boys, not wanting to wake her, for she would surely have convinced him not to go. Perhaps she would still live had he stayed. Perhaps he would have at least had a few more days to spend with her. Perhaps he could have been with her at the end.

But he knew that the King and Impa would have died at the hands of Eleana, for she hadn't known that her arrows were aimed at the King of Hyrule. She hadn't known he was king until they were standing in front of the sword. If he hadn't been there, who would be ruling now? There would be anarchy. That desert upstart would have come in and taken over for sure. The young Gerudo had a voracious ambition. The sacrifice of his wife was a small price to pay for a peaceful kingdom. It was a sorrow he bore easily knowing that. And he knew that his wife, in the end, would have agreed.

Nevertheless, he accompanied the King to the Temple, and watched with some interest as the King made his offering, and the Sage of Light took him to the sanctuary and spoke to him. When he came out, he seemed more at ease, more sure of himself. The two men went back to the castle. Impo did not ask what the Sage had told him. He was only happy to have the crazy behavior stop. No more booze. No more women. No more bloodthirsty jaunts into the King's reserve. No more sleepwalking.

He sighed thankfully after another quiet week went by. He observed, however, that the King was much more subdued and withdrawn. He wasn't as happy as he had been of old, but he began a calculated foray into arranging a royal marriage, and Impo, although glad that he finally was considering the future of Hyrule, felt somehow cheated and disturbed.

After careful consideration, he chose a woman that might possibly make a good wife, and was about to go ask her hand in marriage. As usual, Impo accompanied the King, and he was startled to discover that the woman, in aspect alone, seemed very much like Eleana, and as he watched the proceedings, he felt a great misgiving, for the woman was insipid and spoiled, and did not have the same character as Eleana, nor the royal bearing, and he foresaw a troubled future for the King. So, as the King was about to propose to the woman, Impo suddenly stumbled forward and accidentally tipped hot tea all over the woman's beautiful dress.

With a cry of horror, the woman rose up, and began vociferously berating Impo in front of everyone.

"I apologize, Madam." He said in his coldest tone of voice, and Evan gave him a sharp glance.

Impo could intimidate with a mere look, and he did so at that moment.

Evan immediately took him aside. "What are you doing?"

"It was an accident, Sire." was all he said.

After they made their excuses and left, the King again asked him the same question, and Impo merely turned the same cool gaze to his friend. "What do you think _you're_ doing?"

The men rode back to the castle in uneasy silence. When they arrived at the stables, Impo told him that he was going home for a week.

Evan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Impo never demanded time from him.

"While I'm gone," he said sternly, "I don't want you doing anything like that again."

"Like what?" Evan asked quietly.

"Asking someone to marry you." He said

"I'm thinking of Hyrule!" he exclaimed, but it sounded bitter, even in his own ears.

Impo again stared at him. "Marriage is a life long commitment, my Lord. It is not something into which you rush!"

"I'm not rushing!" he said defensively.

Impo hefted the saddle off of the horse and threw it over the stand. "Did you kiss her?" he asked quietly.

"Kiss her?" he repeated stupidly. "Kiss who?"

"Eleana."

Evan felt a dull rush of blood to his face.

"You did." Impo said, his eyes narrowing. He cleaned and hung the tack. "Do you think you'll find that in someone else?"

"She's gone." Evan said with some force. "I let her go, and she did not return."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Impo asked. "Did she not like how you kissed her?"

Evan bit his lip. "She liked it." He said softly, feeling as if he ought to hang his head in shame.

"Then, why?" he mercilessly probed, but Evan didn't answer. The men left the stables and made their way to the castle. "Come with me." Impo invited. "Are you doing anything for the next week?"

Evan looked at his bodyguard as if he had never seen him before.

"In truth, I was not planning on going home. I was going to go back to the Forest Temple. I think it would be best if you were with me."

But it turned out that no one awaited them there. It looked as if no one had been there lately. The giants were gone, and little annoying Deku Scrubs had popped up around every corner of the maze. They were much easier to deal with than the giants. They called for Eleana, but got no answer. Impo took out an unusual device that he had borrowed from the gravedigger. With it, they were able to circumvent the broken staircase and enter the temple grounds. "He called it a stretchy thing, but I call it a hook-shot." He told the king.

But no one was there.

Discouraged, they returned to Hyrule town, and met a lynch mob at the gates. "Thief!" the crowds screamed, chanting over and over. At the center of the confusion, Eleana, bound to a cart, her clothing in tatters, her body covered in rotten vegetable juice. "Traitor!" others screamed just as loudly.

With his horse, the King pushed the rabid crowd away. He reached forward with his sword and cut her bonds. The entire crowd stood in shock. At first they had thought that he would slaughter the criminal then and there, but they were even more astounded that he freed her. "If anyone treats my future wife and queen of Hyrule in this manner again, they will be punished as you have just punished her!" He pulled her up onto the horse's withers, and she drew in a shuddering breath, her eyes large. "I was looking for you." He said, and kissed her, even though she stank.


	17. End Result

**Chapter 17:** **End Result**

Impo stood guard outside the door to the King's chamber so that no one might disturb the couple. For a long time, all he could hear was the rise and fall of Eleana's voice. Her words were so quiet, that even if he wanted to, he couldn't hear her exact words, but sometimes she burst out in a rage of pent up sorrow, and he wished that he couldn't hear them. This would be followed by a wrack of sobs no man could possibly endure for long. Once in a while, he heard the King's voice, in low soothing tones, but for the most part, he simply listened.

It had been a week since they had found her nearly lynched in the marketplace. After a couple well-placed questions, they found that she had never left Hyrule, but soon after taking leave of the King, had been captured and jailed. The jail and the jailer had been upgraded since she had been there last. She probably could have escaped had she wanted to, but since that night; had lost the heart for such adventurous things.

All the thoughts from her past had haunted her, and her inner turmoil convinced her that she was better off without the king, and he was better off without her.

Even so, as Evan listened to her list of grave transgressions, sometimes extremely shocked at the amount and seriousness of them, he could feel only compassion for her. She wouldn't let him pick her up, but she stayed kneeling the entire time before him, her head on his lap, so at times, he ventured to put his hand on her golden head, the top of his knees sodden from the amount of tears she shed.

She had put her head on his knees because she couldn't bear to look up at his face. She feared to see his shock, his revulsion, his disapproval.

"Eleana." He said softly, stroking her head gently. Her body shuddered with leftover sobs that ended with a sigh. She was totally spent, and could say no more. He was overwhelmed with all the things she had just told him, but he found he hadn't cared one bit for the thing that she worried about: his reputation. "Eleana, I'm still marrying you tomorrow. Nothing that you have said tonight has changed my mind or made me feel any differently about you. You've paid for what you've done, and, in truth, others should also pay for what they've done to you. I want you beside me. I want you there for the rest of our lives. I want you without any doubts or fears. If you have any doubts or fears that we shouldn't be together, say it now. Tell me you can be with me for all our tomorrows."

His words were like rays of the sun lancing through the broken storm and sizzling on the ground causing vapors to rise up in tendrils of hope. For the first time since her confession had begun, she lifted her face to his. Her expression of disbelief was so intense that he smiled. "I swear, by Din, Farore and Nayru that what I say is the truth and from the bottom of my heart. I have never felt this way before. I don't see you as you see yourself. You are kind and gentle and strong and…and beautiful! You don't see it, but I do. I don't think that you would ever be boring to be around, and together, there is much that the two of us could do to help Hyrule."

He stood up and pulled her off of the floor so that she stood beside him. His grip on her shoulders intensified. "Be with me." His words were just as intense. His eyes held the same burning demand, searching her eyes with his own. "When you left six weeks ago, I thought I wanted to die. I hated myself for not having told you how much you mean to me." He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Stay with me. Be my guide. Be my navigat…"

She stopped his lips with hers before he could finish the word.

He had glimpsed something in her eyes as she suddenly came close to press her lips on his words. For a moment, he felt a shiver, as if he had seen something pure and wild. "I will," she murmured against his lips, reaching her arms up around his neck.

He pulled her closer, deepening their kiss, feeling a warm powerful sensation shoot throughout his entire being. Whatever this was, neither of them could resist it. "I'm not sure I can wait until tomorrow." He breathlessly said when they came up for air.

She smiled, her eyes smouldering with passion. She put her hands on his and gently removed them from her hips. "We can do it if we try." She took a step back, gazed at him for a moment, then turned and slowly left the room.

Although the people of Hyrule had mixed feelings about whom he had chosen as his queen, the populace, in general, felt relieved that he was finally settling down. A giant drunk-up was planned for the next week, and was marred by the presence of Ganondorf, who had arrived at the wedding the morning it began.

The young red head mostly kept quiet, and actually behaved himself. He was constantly surrounded by a bevy of women, but his eyes followed the new Hylian Queen, his gaze speculative. For any who knew him, they might have said they saw within him a lost little boy yearning for something not quite within his reach. He was invited to the high table, and he sat with them for a while, but did not join in the conversation, unless politeness dictated that he do so. But he knew the Queen was uncomfortable with his eye always upon her, so he made his leave quickly. Everyone felt relief when he left.

Evan said nothing about the glances that Eleana and Ganondorf had exchanged, although his curiousity was piqued. Eleana seemed quiet for the next while. The ceremony and the party were stuffy and pompous. Both of them couldn't wait for the event to wind down. At the first chance they got, he grabbed her hand and led her away from the crowd, down the long hallway that went into a part of the castle rarely used. He shed his fancy ceremonial coat and tossed it on the floor.

She smiled and took off the painful headdress, also tossing it behind them. He gave her a crooked smile and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. She pulled at the pins that confined her hair, and shook her long pale tresses free. She started running, kicking off her shoes. He started chasing, pulling the shirt off, not waiting to unbutton them all. She stumbled on the hem of her dress, which gave him time to catch up. He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her against him. He pressed her up against the wall, pulling at the shoulder straps of her wedding gown.

He moaned against her lips, his hand diving into the bodice of her dress, his fingers seeking to encompass her warm flesh, pushing away the material that encased it, bringing into his sight this one female attribute upon which he would practice giving her pleasure. He looked at her for a moment, as if asking permission, his eyes filled with pent up need, then bent downward like a stooping eagle, neither preparing her flesh with any licks or kisses, but taking its apex into his mouth and clamping upon it so that her breath suddenly accelerated, her back arched to let him have more, and her hands came to his shoulders, unsure, at one moment, whether he would attack her or give her this sudden intense pleasure. He shivered to hear his name upon her lips like it was part of the air.

His hands sought the opening at the back of her dress, a long line of tiny buttons, into which he wedged his fingers and tore away, causing many pearls to dance down the stone hallway, and then sliding his warm hands against the flesh of her back, drawing her closer, inhaling her scent, feeling and hearing her responses to his assault. Every so often, he looked up into her eyes, to check the effect he had on her, or ask if she wanted him to do more, to which, so far, she had nodded.

He pulled away the entire bodice of the dress so that, she was as naked as he, and he drew her against him, feeling her breasts against his chest and his heart thud powerfully against his ribs. He noticed that she was up against a heavy oaken door, and he realized which door it was. He turned the latch and opened it, nearly falling inward, holding her upwards, then closing the heavy door behind them.

It was a storage room, filled with items of all sorts, and dimly lit with guttering sconces. Closing the door made the air heavy and still. It was a place without any other door but the one through which they had just come in. It was heavily carpeted and muffled. Some relics, as if on display in a museum, were placed in glass cases.

He leaned against the door, feeling the oaken planks warm against his bare back. He felt her hands flat against his chest as she reached upward to kiss his neck. He let her do this for a while, but he gave her a strange look, and said, "I want to do this for you. Tonight, everything of me belongs to you." He knelt down in front of her and pulled away the rest of her dress, and she had on her underpants and stockings, and nothing else. She hadn't tried covering herself up, and both nipples stood at attention. He felt one of her hands on the top of his head. The torchlight made her hair glisten like spun gold. He could swear that her eyes were so blue that they glowed, and again, he sensed something pure and wild in her. A question rose to his lips, but he quelled it: What are you? He could swear he could smell the heady air of the forest: pine and spruce and fir.

He pulled her drawers off, kissing her navel, feeling her hands running through his hair. She stepped quickly out of the confining material, and was now down to her stockings. He probed quickly and eagerly between her thighs with his fingers, feeling the slick warmth she had generated for him. He tightened his arm around her and slid his fingers into her receptive well, hearing her moan, feeling her hips push down. He felt when her knees gave way, and still pushing his fingers into her, pulled her close as she knelt in front of him, and kissed her deeply, nearly drooling all over her mouth, the ache in his loins beginning to feel painful.

"Eleana." he breathed, the rush of blood to his ears making everything seem as if he was moving slowly. Both of them frantically started working his trousers off. He kicked them away and they lay down on the soft carpet, skin to skin, and he pierced her more roughly than he thought he should, but felt her hips rise to greet him eagerly. He watched, amazed, upon the initial thrust, that she cried out with pent up desire, and he felt her warmth gush upon him. He looked into her face, flushed already with arousal, and he froze, holding himself still while she worked her hips frantically against him. He thought that he was losing his senses. How could she be so ready? Had no one ever touched her in the way he had?

She cried out, tears forming in her eyes, and her arms pulled him close. "Evan!" she said, her entire body trembling beneath his. He pulled her hands away, and she limply allowed him to, pinning them with one hand, and he began with slow powerful strokes, riding her wave, bending his neck to claim her lips with his own, awakening her again to the pleasure he wanted her to feel, plunging his tongue into her mouth, feeling her respond to it in a way he had never felt anyone else respond. It was as if she chewed and sucked at the same time, drawing his tongue in and allowing it to retreat. She slid her tongue against his almost timidly, as if she had never done such a thing before.

"Eleana." he breathed. "Do you want me to stop? Do you want me to slow down?" He searched her face for an answer.

He asked of her some tender question.

She became inwardly still, feeling him moving against her body. The sudden realization that she belonged to him and he belonged to her hit her when she remembered how the hope had died in her when she realized she would never have what Eric and his wife had. She now had that thing she thought she could never have. Feeling him inside of her suddenly was overwhelming. "Evan," she whispered, choked with this emotion…"Evan I want you so much." Her voice dipped lower. "You don't know how long I have yearned for this. I never knew it could be like this…at least, I had only seen it once, a long time ago. Someone else had this, and I wanted it too, but I knew I could never have it…I didn't know that I could belong to somebody so..so much. It makes me ache I want you so badly."

"Eleana." was all he could manage, feeling her encompassing him. She clearly saw that her words had stunned him, but then a slow smile curved his lips, and he looked at her with some amusement. "So then, I take it, you want me to go faster."

She smiled back. "Yes." her voice ragged with desire. "Go faster."

He obliged her with all his vigour, lancing into her body without mercy, her slick channel like a heated sheath of pleasure into which he would pour his entire being. She was a receptacle of his love and desire; he would flood her with his noblest aspirations. He cried out when he plunged the end result deep into her body, desiring all that they both could give one another, and she felt his intent washing inside of her, and she accepted all that it meant, opening up to him completely, and whatever future he made for them.

It was like thunder in her ears and blindness to her eyes to feel him buried so deep. This is what she had willed. This is what she had accepted, and that white heat traveled up her entire body. The scent of his skin, the feel of his hands communicating his urgency, it invaded all her senses. Both their wills were tied together now, encompassing them, binding them. They lay together for a long time on the carpet, their clothing strewn around the doorway, their bodies glistening with sweat, the signs of their joining and of their arousal evaporating in the dry air. They caught their breath and he pulled her body beside his. He lazily kissed her arm and shoulder.

She propped her head up with her elbow and looked around the dim room. It felt as if no one in the entire castle existed except for them. The room was warm and windowless, and filled with wooden treasure boxes of all sorts. "What place is this?" she wondered.

"One of the store rooms, I suppose." his words were muffled against her skin, and it tickled her. He slowly traced the line of her waist and hip with his hand, reaching as far down her thigh as he could, then tracing it again back up to her shoulder, taking a detour to slide his hand around the nearest breast. His hand felt comfortable there, so he left it, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her nipple. He heard her draw in her breath and felt her hips press against him in response.

He smiled, and she could feel his smile without looking, but she glanced at him anyway, her look shot with smouldering desire. She did not want to leave the comfort and warmth of his arms, but the storeroom floor, although warm and carpeted and private, had a hard floor, and something had caught her eye. Something she had never before seen or heard of, so she had to ask him what it was. She had seen a silver pair like it, and knew what they could do.

"Those?" he responded. Then he used his "tour guide" voice and said: "The Golden Gauntlets." Then he laughed at his own wit, but she only gave him a look of annoyance. "No, really," he said, "They've been in the family for years. I'll never wear the relics, but kings of old Hyrule used to wear them in times of war. One of my ancestors used to wear them all the time. 'Edward the Conqueror' he was called, but no one has worn them for generations."

She looked at them in their glass case and an old feeling of desire overcame her, one she shook off, for the gauntlets were now hers as well, if she so wished to claim such a thing. She fell into a thoughtful silence, remembering something from long ago. "What else is in here?"

She stood up, and naked, the glow of the torchlight making her seem as if she were made of gold, she began wandering around the room, touching boxes and scrolls, looking at pictures hung with dusty drapes, and finally coming to a box marked "Elena". She paused before it, and, since he was enjoying the view, his hot imagination running wild, he noticed that she had become very still. It was such stillness, that he felt a small arrow of concern, and got up off of the floor to go see what it was that had caught her eye.

Before he got there, however, she was pulling a small box off of a shelf and opening it. He saw tears standing in her eyes and he wondered at them.

"My ocarina," she softly exclaimed, with such reverence in her voice, that he knew at once she should have it.

She polished it a bit with her fingers and put it to her lips. She closed her eyes and began to play it. He stood stock still, a feeling of peaceful joy permeating his being. He felt so relaxed, suddenly, and a strong sense that he was in the presence of an ancient boreal being overcame him. "The Great Deku Tree!" he hissed out. He looked directly at her. "How do you do that?"


	18. Edward

**Chapter 18: Edward**

She hadn't expected that giving birth to him would be so easy. She was given the baby almost immediately, and she looked down into his peaceful face, her own face lit by the biggest smile she had ever worn.

The midwife had kept Evan out, so when he was called in, he rushed to her side and sat gently on the bed beside her, barely noting the shimmer of sweat on her face. He gave her a quick kiss on the side of her forehead, then his attention was riveted to his son's face, pudgy and squished up, his little curled fist beside his cheek. He felt his heart swell inside of him at the sight of his son. The grin on his face matched Eleana's. He put forth a finger against the infant's cheek, feeling it's smooth warm softness. He was rewarded with the little mouth opening, his head turning, seeking his finger. He let out a soft laugh and looked at Eleana. "He's beautiful!" he couldn't help exclaiming, careful to keep his voice low. He felt excited. "We can go fishing and stuff!"

Eleana leaned her head tiredly against the mountain of pillows behind her, feeling the solid warmth of the boy in her arms. She lifted him to his father, and he quickly and gently gathered him up into the crook of his arm. She smiled. "You're a natural," she quietly observed, her eyes alight with love. The sight of their son in his arms caught at her heart. She didn't think that she would ever forget that moment, and the look on his face as he gazed down into his son's eyes.

Noticing the shift, the boy had lazily opened his eyes to look up into Evan's. To both their surprise, he opened his mouth and made a happy sound. Evan and Eleana laughed with delight to hear his voice. Their quiet laughter startled him, but he did not cry. Evan put his finger near the baby's fist and was rewarded with the feel of his strong grip. His grin widened, and his eyes flicked to his wife's face, then back down to his. "How do you do?" he formally asked. "My name is Evan, the King of Hyrule, and I am your father. You may call me dad."

Eleana laughed at his antics.

"I can't stop looking at him!" the King exclaimed, unable to fully explain the strange feeling he was experiencing. "I think he understands what I'm saying!"

He shifted the baby into his other hand, holding him like a rugby ball, cradling his head in his hand, and leaned toward Eleana, capturing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. His hand went to her neck, his thumb against the edge of her jaw. "Well done," he breathed. "You are so beautiful! I love you so much. Thank you so much for giving him to us!"

Her hands automatically went to reach for him, but weariness pervaded her entire body, and she sleepily responded. "Mmm Hmm," she said against his lips, managing to trail her hand along his bicep until it rested on his forearm.

The midwife came forward once again, and took the new prince to the nearby bassinet. "You must let her rest now, sire," she quietly asserted. "She was up half the night." She looked at his care-worn expression. "You could do with some rest yourself."

"Give me a moment longer, sergeant," he playfully riposted, and he turned to Eleana. "The people of Hyrule wait for his name."

She smiled and tiredly nodded. "You know my choice."

He grinned back at her. "Edward the Conqueror!" he quietly exclaimed. He thought it appropriate that another Prince of Hyrule would once again bear that name. It reminded him of their wedding night, when they had ended up in that store room, making love beneath the golden gauntlets. He knew that's where it had all started. His delirious happiness had been unmarred from that moment, and his buoyant spirit was hard to suppress. "You make me so happy!" he exclaimed spontaneously, remembering just as many sweet moments spent with Eleana's body intimately joined to his. It almost made his breath catch. He never seemed to tire of her. That alone amazed him, and he yearned for her. His body missed hers. It seemed so long since they had done anything that vigorous.

Eleana couldn't help but smile back at his unabated excitement. "Not as happy as you've made me," she huskily murmured, tears nearly falling from her eyes.

He raised his eyebrows to see them, wondering at them. He drew her against him, running his hand down her back, pressing her entire body against his, so that their hearts were as close as possible. After a long moment, they parted. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and he kissed her forehead. He sent a longing look her way and whispered in her ear. "How much longer do I have to wait?"

She smiled. "Two months." She replied without mercy.

He winced and sighed deeply.

He slid off of the giant bed and went around to gaze at his peaceful son once again before taking his leave. "Edward," he quietly murmured. "A link to the past."

She didn't think that she had slept for very long, when she awoke, prepared herself, found herself and the Prince the center of a fuss-budget storm, then sent out onto the balcony with Evan to face the crowds of well-wishers that had gathered in the courtyard.

The people raised such a mighty cheer, that they were quite taken aback by the sheer volume.

"Edward, Crown Prince of Hyrule!" the crier announced.

Another resounding cheer rose up from the crowd.

Eleana had never experienced such a volume of sound or emotion before. She could feel everyone's good wishes overwhelming them, and she felt quite unworthy of the gigantic wave of it that washed over the three of them. She smiled and waved, as did Evan. They held hands with the tips of their fingers.

A great many people had sent cards and gifts of all sorts, welcoming the tiny prince into the world. Two days later, they were graced with the announcement that Ganondorf would deign to visit them for a day in order to congratulate them on their new addition.

They met him downstairs in the Great Room. He fixed his glittering eyes upon the baby, examining him as if examining a specimen in a lab. "So there's the little bastard." He said quite coolly, scooping the little one up and bringing him close.

Neither Eleana nor Evan said a word, although their hearts beat with trepidation to see the Desert King hold their son.

Ganondorf put the tip of his nose against the baby's forehead and breathed in, a strange smile crossing his face. He put Edward down in his nurse's arms. "Brave little blighter," was his only comment. He sat back and leaned his cheekbone on his fist, fixing his regard on Eleana.

He said nothing more, although he left a magnificent gift and they thanked him politely enough for it. There were token pleasantries, but as before, he did not prolong his stay. His gaze roved between Eleana and Evan constantly, and the moment he was alone with her, he said quite coolly to her: "You don't belong here, and you know it."

She could not reply to what he said, and his words pierced her heart. She only lifted her eyes to his, and he saw the agony in them. He put his foot in the stirrup of the saddle and quickly mounted his horse. He smiled down at her, feeling a twisted triumph to see pain in her eyes. He knew instinctively that she was not who she appeared to be. She was something else, and he felt an unbreakable connection to her. She had never denied it, but she didn't exactly go around proclaiming it, and her silence hurt.

"Mother," he quietly said, so that only her ears could hear it, along with all the bitterness and sadness that word meant to him.

She drew in her breath, and watched as he turned the horse's head and walked the animal away, followed by a retinue of women, also mounted.

A moment later, she felt Evan's arm around her shoulder, and she was glad of its strength and warmth. He could feel her tremble, and sent a grim look at the back of that darkly clad King, glad he was leaving, and thinking that something bad could soon develop.

She wouldn't tell him anything, although he guessed some of it, considering the great amount of things she had divulged on the night before their wedding; he could only wonder what the true relationship was between Eleana and Ganondorf. But he knew that whenever the Desert King visited, his wife was disturbed for several days afterward.

He gave her a squeeze of reassurance. "What is it?" he softly enquired.

She turned those wonderful eyes to him, and he forgot, momentarily, the question he had just asked of her.

"I feel so sad for him," she replied in tones just as soft.

He smiled and shrugged. "He's a big boy, Eleana. He's got as many women as he wants. He probably has dozens of children already, and he's betrothed to Nabooru. She's a lass that can keep him in line. He's got an entire kingdom to rule, what more could he possibly want?"

She didn't know how to answer him.

They both went back into the castle. He could tell that she was despondent, and his guy logic had only helped a little. He thought that he had seen Ganondorf's lips move as he had gazed down at Eleana from his horse, but he couldn't tell what it was he had said. It had been like an evil spell that took away her joy. By Din, that guy was such a wet blanket! It was enough to see him for obligatory diplomatic functions. Thank the goddesses that didn't happen much. He supposed the next function would be a Gerudo wedding.

Everyone expected the two Gerudo to tie the knot sometime soon, even though Nabooru was still only fifteen, and he was twenty. Women had wed younger than that before. In one of the few times that Ganondorf was forth-coming, however, with his gaze on the object of his desire, he had confided to Evan that he would wait until she was ready, and not before.

Evan had been surprised at this particular revelation, for he had thought the boy a womanizer, even though the statement revealed how calculating he could be. In spite of that, it seemed that Ganondorf actually considered Nabooru's feelings, and he wondered at it. Ganondorf did not reveal too many considerations, but kept quiet, and this side to him was not something Evan expected. He also noticed the look of longing Ganondorf had when he looked at Nabooru.

For the life of him, Evan couldn't tell the woman from the rest of them, and he was ashamed to admit it to himself. All the Gerudo women looked alike.

By Ganondorf's admission, he knew this desert woman would be an ally. She was tough. She was holding out on the Desert King. He was letting her do this. She could manipulate him. Anyone who could have that power over the King of the Gerudo was worth making into an ally, and Evan considered seeking Nabooru out. However, she was elusive, and did not often accompany Ganondorf on any of his obligatory visits. For the few times she came, Evan could not get her alone in order to have a few words with her.

He shrugged the memory off. He didn't want any more Gerudo reminders to mar the day. He hurried in to let his eyes drink in the sight of his newborn son.

He woke up in a sweat, the Sacred Sword was gripped so tightly in his fist, that his hand ached, and the blade trembled. He looked around him, confused, putting his other hand to the clammy sweat on his brow. His heart was pounding, his breath drawn in and out through his mouth in great gulping gasps. He looked around the darkened hallway, wondering how he had gotten out there. He didn't remember getting up at all.

Slowly, he lowered the point of his sword, calming his breath, trying to remember what he had been dreaming about. He slowly turned around, getting his bearings, and noticed both Impo and Eleana standing several paces behind him. He shakily sighed, looking down at his nightclothes. He must look like a fool. "What did I do?" he quietly asked. He ran his hands through his hair, which was damp from sweat.

"Well, you didn't kill anyone, if that's what you mean." Impo said with some humor. This was the first time Evan had woken up in the middle of it.

Eleana came forward, concern for him in her eyes. "You've been sleepwalking down this hall for the past three nights. Each time you've had the sword with you and you…you seem to be fighting someone at least ten feet tall." She knew what this reminded her of, and her breath caught in her throat. "Do you remember what you were dreaming of?"

She began leading him back to their bedroom.

Impo sheathed his sword, and Evan noticed the furtive action with a start. Impo had drawn his sword? Did he think that he would have to go up against him? He felt a little disoriented, and meekly followed his Queen back to their bedchamber. "Maybe we ought to put the sword in the temple, " he shakily suggested, moaning inwardly at the danger he had put them in.

She smiled at the suggestion. "What were you dreaming about?" She gave Impo a nod, letting him know that she had things under control. Impo slightly inclined his head in acknowledgement and retreated to his post.

He shook his head, trying to recall it, but it became vague. "Just danger. Immense danger." He placed the sword in its sheath, and hung it on the bedpost at the foot of their bed. They crawled in under the covers, and he slid a hand on her abdomen, just starting to swell with their second child. "I swear, ever since we made this one, I've been plagued with all kinds of disturbing dreams."

She smiled and snuggled closer to him. "You'd think I'd be the one having dreams," she sleepily murmured.

He kissed her shoulder and smiled, feeling the tendrils of the dream leaving his mind when he breathed in her scent. He let his hand travel downward along her body, and her legs moved apart to allow him access. "Nayru! You really love this!" he murmured against her skin, pulling her more closely to his body. His fingers feverishly gathered the material of her nightgown so that his hands could dive under it to feel the warm silk of her skin and the wet heat she held for him.

She made a throaty sound. "Can't help it when you touch me like that." She closed her eyes and stretched her body against his. She trailed her hand between their bodies, reaching behind her own to grasp his awakening erection, feeling it become rigid within her grasp. He moaned, and whispered her name.

"Can I have you now?" he softly begged, feeling how ready she was, and when she nodded, she let go of him. He eagerly shifted his hips; burying himself within her, glad to feel the last vestiges of the dream leave. He could feel her heart racing, her body responding to his, his thrusts gentle and slow, full of meaning. He closed his eyes and reached downward, feeling himself sliding into her, and he pulled upward on the folds of her opening, hearing her gasp. Her body jerked unexpectedly against him and he felt her grind down on him.

"I've got to…" he managed to say.

He withdrew from her and suddenly pulled her beneath him, turning her to face him.

"This is better," he said, pulling her legs apart, thrusting swiftly back into her. "Wrap your legs around me," he instructed. He held himself up and looked down at her face, her eyes closed, her eyebrows arched, her mouth open, her chin lifting with every move he made. He could feel her creamy heat surrounding him, grasping the entire length he slid into her.

He didn't want to just use her, even if she allowed it. He knew enough of her life had been spent being used. Every time he touched her he was aware of this, and made sure he took care of her, but this was the first time that he needed her; really needed her. The desperate edge to his movements came from his mind not wanting to think of that dream battle he had fought. There had been something frightening about it that he hadn't been able to face.

He lost himself in the sensations she was giving him, feeling the pleasure of her warm body alive beneath his. He gasped with the overwhelming response he could sense building up. "Eleana!" he whispered. He could barely keep his eyes open. His entire body shivered as he expelled into her, feeling her body arch against his, hearing his name on her lips. Nayru, he wouldn't trade this moment for any other!

…


End file.
